Melt
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: Shay is an ordinary girl who was betrayed and let for dead. Naruto was more than a little shocked to find a naked girl in the woods.Even more so when he found the drying blood on the back of her head. I've changed my mind kittens. There will be Kakashi/OC/Naruto in this. Eventually. Chapter 83 is now up!
1. Chapter 1

This is going to be a real world/naruto cross over story so the female lead is going to be an OC.

Should be fun.

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"Do I have to do this?" Shay asked as she stared at the murky ink black waters of the lake outside of her great uncle's lake house. The one that had been abandoned for the past five years since the man had died.

"Yup. You lost the bet. Time to go skinny dipping." Her cousin Rae chirped happily as she pulled out a video camera. Shay blanched and looked at her like she was nuts and shook her head, her curly black hair swaying a bit as she did so. She did not want another video of herself on Youtube! The last time one had been posted she'd had a pedophile stalking her for three months before coming home to an empty house one day after school and finding the freaky sick bastard in her bedroom waiting for her.

She had just barely managed to get away after he had forced her to-_No!_ She would not think of that now. That had been three years ago, and she was'nt the same weak, sheltered little girl she had been then.

She _had_ gotten away. She _had_ survived the attack. She was alive, and well, and the nightmare was far, far, _far_ behind her. Three years and seven thousand miles behind her. Her attacker was in jail, and if there was a god in heaven justice would be served when he got a taste of his own medicine before dying horribly from being shanked in the kidney or something. Or an STD could finish him off. She was'nt picky.

"You not posting that on You tube." She'd break the damn camera and beat her older cousin to death before she let Rae post another video of her ever again! Rae started to say something then snapped her mouth shut as she studied her baby cousin.

"You were only attacked once." She said as she rolled her eyes. God. Try and help a girl out and she decides never to let her live it down. What was Shay's problem with men anyways?

Shay curled her fingers into a fist. Attacked, was putting the term mildly. She had been held prisoner against her will, brutilized, among other things and had spent almost three weeks in the hospital in a coma because of her injuries. So yeah, she was a bit touchy about the incident.

She didn't like being reminded of being a victim. And she didn't like the careless and insinsitive way that Rae spoke of the attack either. She always made it sound as if she had asked for what had happened. The bitch.

Rage rose up in her chest, curling it's fingers around her heart. "Only attacked...once." She said the words very softly, hurt and disbelief colored her tone. How could Rae be so cruel? Because of her stupidity Shay had been stripped of her inncence at a very tender age, she'd been treated as a toy. Something to play with. And when she had disobeyed, she had been beaten and cut up. She had scars on her neck, her chest, and on her stomach and inner thighs. She'd been lucky that she had'nt bled to death before she could get away.

She growled at Rae and snapped. "Fuck you Rae!" And turned to leave, she' bedamned if she was going to follow through with her end of the deal whn Rae was being such a pain. She was'nt risking her neck again. She got wo steps before something hard slammed into the back of her head and a kolidaskope of coors and lights danced in her vision before she went down with a soft thud in the grass.

Rae stood there grinding her teeth, her hand tightly gripping what was left of her broken camera. She kicked Shay in the ribs once, twice, three times and snarled and spat on her. "God I fucking hate you." She should have died in the attack. Really she should have.

If she had...

Rae would have been able to leave home, escape her step father and stay with her uncle and aunt.

She didn't bother taking Shay's pulse, to be perfectly honest she didn't really care if the younger girl was dead or not, though she would bet that Shay was now suffering fom a skull fraure or something and might die anyways, she just could'nt bring herself to care all that much. She stripped her naked and quckly dumped her body into the frigid waters and smiled as she sank under the waters.

"Bye-bye baby." Rae said happly as she picked up Shay's clothing and carried it and the broken camera back to the car. She'd burn the shit later and just say that Shay had decided to run away or something.

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The cold was like an electric shock to his system. Jolting him awake where he lay. How long had he been asleep? He wondered groggily as he pushed himself upright and lifted his azure eyes to the grey sky above. Gods, he hated the winter. It was always so cold, and he was always so sleepy and coud'nt train and had to confine himself to his apartment.

He scanned the skies for a second or so, lifting his face to the heavens and sniffed the air. It was going to snow in a little while. He could tell by the crisp, icey taste on the wind. Stinging his eyes, his ears, and his nose. He shivered in his jacket and stood up.

He'd trained enough for now. It was time to go home.

He stood up and groaned when he felt his knee's pop a little bit. _Ow..._ That was not only annoying, but painful.

**_Well, that is what you get when you train outside in the dead of winter._** Kyubbi said affectionatly.

_Shut it furball._ Naruto thought tiredly, affection lacing his inner tone as he collected his weapons and started walking home. He was half way down the mountain over looking the village that he had grown up in when something caught his attention. He blinked, looked around. Pinched himself. Yelped and blinked again.

This had to be the oddest thing that he had ever seen before in his life, and he'd seen some really weird shit in his day.

There in the trail, right in front of him was a naked...girl? _What the hell?_

**_That's a good question. Check and see if she's alive. _**Kyubbi said excitedly. This was by far the coolest event that had hapened in a while. But then he was sealed inside of Naruto, so it didn't take much to make him happy. His life had become so damned boring when he had been sealed away.

_Yeah okay._ But what was he supposed to do with her? He wondered.

Kyubbi practically rolled his golden eyes at the teen. Sixteen years old, male and _healthy_-Naruto was an enigma that the nine tailed demon simply could'nt solve. Not without developing the headache from hell first anyways.

So naturally it bugged the demon to know that the teen had now sexual intrest in _any_ female's at all. And if he did have such intrest, he hid it very well behind his mask of ignorance. Perhaps because he was'nt sure how to action his feelings or maybe it was more to protect himself from heartache, whatever the reason the young man drove the demon nuts.

**_Are you realy that stupid kit? Or are you just gay? You have a naked female in front of you and you on't know what to do! Cop a feel, kiss her, jack off on her stomach, just do something!_** Kyubbi ranted at him.

_How about I just check and make sure she's alive._ Naruto thought in amusment and got the impression that Kyubbi was baring his fangs at him and chuckled as he knelt down and felt for a pulse in the side of her neck and frowned when he felt how cold her skin was.

Ah right, right, she was naked in the woods in he middle of winter. And she also felt like her skin as damp. He glanced at her hair, lifted his hand and shifted his fingers through her hair, feeling the et strands as they slipped through his fingers and looked down at his palm and blinked in suprise as he notd the faint smudge of blood on his palm.

"Shit." He growled as he looked around. He had been slightlyamued at finding a nake girl out this far from the village and it's people. Had thought that maybe she had ben partyng and gone just a bit too far, but the fact that she was nake an suffering from an apparent head wound changed everything.

He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped her in it as he scanned the woods again. A dozen or more different senario's running through his head. Following them was questions.

Had she been kidnapped? Dragged from her home or work place? Had she been raped? His azure eyes darkened with rage at the thought as they flickered down her body, subtly checking for blood or any other fluids. There was none that he could see, but that didn't mean that it had'nt have happened.

_I'll have to get Sakura or Baa-chan to check her out. _He thought as he carefuly picked her up off of the ground, pausing briefly to pull the lapels of his jacket closed over her breasts, his dark eyes taking in the faint scars on her neck, chest, and stomach. He made a menta note to ask about them, just in case they were relivent in some way to how she had ended up naked in the woods and quickly shushined towards his apartment. He'd make her comfortable, patch her up and send for Tsunade or smeone to check her out.

He had to make a shadow clone to dig in his pants pocket, and pull out his key and unlock the door for him so that he could slip inside before anyone could see him.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing that Naruto did once he was in the apartment was kick the door closed and send his shadow clone to find one of the medical nins he could trust and summoned another one to help him by getting the first aid kit, a towel, a shirt and maybe some panties that he had bought on impulse the one time he had gone shopping as a girl. He walked quickly through his apartment living room, down the hall to his bedroom and lay her on his bed and then moved to shut the blinds.

He did not want any of the villagers that hated him breaking into his home and hurting the girl thinking that she was his girlfriend or something. His clone walked into the room and tossed him the towel as he set down the shirt, panties, and first aid kit. Naruto caught the towel in mid air and moved away form the window after peeking through the blinds and going to the streets around the building he lived in a quick, paranoid, calculating look.

So far, so good.

It would appear that the villagers weren't aware that he was even home right now. Fantastic. If he could manage to keep the lights out long enough, they would think that he was some place secluded and remote, like the woods, or training grounds and would go looking for him there instead of stopping by his place. He sat down on the edge of the bed, the mattress springs creaking a bit as he leaned over his guest and started to dry her hair and skin, doing his best to make sure that she was dry while avoiding any place that could be considered awkward to touch, like her breasts, and anything south of the waist.

He steered clear of there, silently imagining giant mutant bugs or something protecting the area in a threatening way that when he accidentally brushed on of her breasts, he jerked his hand back and looked around as if expecting the giant mutant bugs to swarm all over him and rip him to pieces and eat his insides and stuff.

It creeped him out, but at the same time it kept him from copping a feel. He was a gentleman after all.

He finished drying her off, or at least dried her off as much as he could without embarrassing himself and grabbed the shirt and panties. He looked at the panties and then at the girl and flushed red. Yeah. He wasn't putting those on her. He'd let one of the girls do it instead.

He lifted her upper body and held it against him and slipped his jacket from her slender shoulders and slipped her small hands through the sleeves, taking the time to note just how fragile and delicate her bones and features were. She was as small and delicately boned as Sakura, but she her chest was bit closer to Hinata's size. He was momentarily startled by the softness crushed against his chest as he pulled the shirt up over her shoulders and closed his eyes and lay her back down and buttoned the shirt without looking.

He was about to move on to the first aid when he heard a knock at his front door and jumped to his feet his right hand automatically going to the weapons pouch at his hip when he heard a familiar, worried voice. "Naruto? Naruto are you in there?"

It was Iruka. The blond sighed heavily and looked at he girl. Maye he could get the man to leave faster if he spoke to him and told him that he was tired and didn't want to hang out tonight. He quietly made his way down the hall to the living room and opened the door before the teacher could knock the damn thing down, and blinked when he caught sight of his first shadow clone plastered around the man's arm.

Well, so much for getting medical help for the female. He thought warily as he moved back and let the man inside.

Iruka had been scared out of his mind when one of Naruto's shadow clones had latched on to his arm and started babbling about something or someone being hurt. He had taken off running as fast as he could towards his adoptive brother's place thinking that the teen was about to bite the big one. He reached out and grasped Naruto's shoulders, his dark eyes looking the young man over for wounds. And finally seemed to calm his rattled nerves before smacking him in the side of the head and growling at him.

"Dammit Naruto! What the hell are you trying to do? Kill me?" Naruto rubbed the side of his head and glared for a second before easily slipping his mask on. He chuckled and looked guilty.

"Maa, sorry Iruka-sensei. I was sort of panicking earler."

Iruka stepped further into the apartment and looked around. Naruto had said that he had panicked, but Iruka couldn't see any visible reason that might have caused the teen to panic. There were no bodies or blood littering the floor. No broken glass at the window, no over turned furniture. Everything looked fine. Normal even. So what could have made him-

He was about to ask when he heard a faint sound of distress coming from Naruto's bedroom. Naruto must have herd it too because his body suddenly went ram rod stiff, his blue eyes narrowed at the older man, a strange look crossing the young man's face as if he was silently saying. "Make a run for it. I dare you." The teen was hiding something. Something more than usual from the looks of it.

"Naruto..." _What are you hiding? _Iruka thought as he hear the sound again. This time a little louder. His dark eyes flickering to the hall way, was that a moan that he had just heard?

"Don't ask, just walk away so that I can take care of it." _It_, was going to get hm into trouble if Iruka discovered what it was. In fact he was sure that the man would freak out in typical mother hen fashion and possibly slit the girl's throat.

He didn't want that to happen until he could figure out if she was a threat or not. He doubted that she was. Her body was sorely lacking in height, muscle, and density. The palms of her hands were soft. Not callused like his own.

Nothing like his own. Meaning that she wasn't a nin. Not even a combatant. But that didn't mean that she wasn't dangerous. "Naruto." Iruka said hs name warningly and the blond gave the teacher an amused look. Like having the man speak to him like he was still a child would caue him to break down and tell everything.

Iruka might be a little bit of an idiot. But he was Naruto's idiot, and right now he needed to tred carefully. He was in Naruto's home, and he would follow Naruto's rules here or he'd throw him out and not allow him back inside his home ever again.

"Go home Iruka." Naruto said gently as he reached out and grabbed the back of he chunin's vest as the man took a dangerous step towards the hall. Iruka half twisted his body so that he could look at is adopive brother as the boy opened the front door and not so gently pushed him ouside before closing the door in his face.

"Naruto!"

"Go home _brother_!" Naruto called as he thumped the door with his fist and sighed. God he was tired.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto waited until he was sure that Iruka was gone before he pushed away from the door and walked down the hall to his bedroom to check on his guest. And stopped as the door swung open and he caught sight of the girl sitting upright in his bed holding her head and glanced at his shadow clone, whom had his back flattened against the wall just inside the door. Naruto scowled at the clone and felt the need to roll his eyes.

What was with his clones lately? Were they malfuntioning or something?

The girl took several minutes to loo around the room before spotting him. Her eyes widened and what little color her face had drained away and she let out an ungodly shriek and was across the room in a flash, her back slamming into his wall as she stood there on shaky legs staring at him, wide eyed in fright.

Not really fazed by this turn of events he studied her. If she was up and on her feet so soon after suffering a head wound then chances were good that she was going to be fine. But she would still need rest and to be checked anyways, just in case. "How are you feeling?" He asked curiously as he leaned his shoulder against the door frame.

She stared at him with those frightened dark green eyes and smiled in amusement. Wow. She had such pretty eyes. He was just a little surprised to see such a startling shade of green. Her eyes were'nt a dull green like Gaara's, or even like Sakura's. They were so dark that they could literally be mistaken for black.

She stare at him and started babbling and he frowned a little bit. He could'nt really understand what she was saying, but he caught little words like 'oh my god' and 'dead'.

He knew fear. As a shinobi, and as a demon container, fear was simply a part of his job and his life that he'd come to accept. Weather he liked it or not. He knew that people were scared of him for being a trained killer, he knew that they were scared of him because of the Kyubbi, and for other things. So he was sort of used to people falling apart on him. To him it was just another day in the life. But even so, he flinched as his heart ached in his chest.

She was a total stranger to him, yet her reaction to his presence hurt him. Just like everyone elses.

It was entirely possible that she thought he might hurt her. Or maybe she was one of the villagers (something that he seriously doubted since he often took a head count, to keep track of his own people) and was frightened because like so many others all she saw was the demon. Finally after her melt down she seemed to get a hold of herself and finally asked him. "W-Where-"

"Kanoha village. The land of fire." Naruto said automatically. She nodded mutely and tried to collect her thoughts before asking.

"Who are you?"

He blinked and cocked his head. Was she being serious? Everyone in the great shinobi nations knew his name. Everyone and their cousin knew him. They whispered about him to anyone that would listen. They told lies, called him a demon in human flesh, hell he even knew of some that used his name in bed time stories to frighten little kids. So hearing the girl ask him who he was just sort of...weird.

He walked across the room and bent down to her level, the darker part of his side silently begging him to be let out. Just for a second. It wouldn't do much damage, just scare her a little. He ruthlessly squashed that part of his mind as she flinched pressing her back against his wall even more. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki... And who exactly might you be?" He asked curiously. He wondered if she really had'nt ever herd his name before.

Then he wondered if maybe she had been living in a cave somewhere all her life. She didn't answer him right then, she seemed just a little bit too scared of him to think properly.

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Iruka knocked on the office door of his Hokage and waited for the woman to call out before walking in. If Tsunade seemed surprised to see him popping his head inside while she was speaking to Kakashi and Sakura and the other two members of team seven, she didn't say anything. She paused in the middle of speaking and looked at him, Kakashi and Sakura both turned their heads to look at him too.

Tsunade looked like she was about to continue when curiosity got the best of her. "Can I help you with something Iruka?"

"Uh...yeah..." He said nervously as he looked first at Kakashi, then Sakura.

"Well? What is it?"

"I-I just came from Nauto's place...and something is going on..."

Tsunade perked up in her seat. "Why would you say that?" She asked more to herself than anyone. She glanced at the members of team Kakashi and noted how quiet and tense the four nins were.

"Tell us why you think something is going on with Naruto?"

"I was walking home from school, and one of his shadow clones grabbed me and started babbling about someone being hurt, maybe dying. So I run over to his place and beat on the apartment door and he opens it and just stares at me like he hadn't expected me to come over... I look around when I hear this odd noise, it sounded like a moan or sound of distress coming from his bedroom. He stiffened and gave me a cold look. I started to go and see what was in his room when he told me to forget about it and walk away in a really mean tone. Then he threw me out!"


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto was quiet as he set down a cup of herbal tea on his bed side table. The girl looked up at him, then looked at the drink. "You didn't put anything in that did you?" She sounded suspicious, and paranoid, and like she had far too much to hide. In fact Naruto would bet that she had something to hide. No one reacted so strongly to the mere presence of a total stranger like she had to him. He'd bet that she had been abused or something.

"No. But I don't expect you to drink it if your worried about that." Naruto said as he dropped down to the floor across from the bed as she picked up the tea and stared at the warm liquid before holding the cup out to him.

"You take a sip first. If nothing happens to you then I can at least trust you not to poison me."

Naruto studied her for a second before something seemed to click in his mind. She didn't know him. She didn't know about his job as a ninja, or his immunity to drugs, or the Kyubbi demon. Or at least that's what he thought. He decided to try an experiment of sorts with her and took the small cup from her and took a sip of the scalding hot liquid and handed the cup back to her. She set it down and stared at him as if she expected him to drop dead or pass out right then and there.

Naruto couldn't help himself, he chuckled in amusement. He wasn't the type to use poison on someone when he could simply snap their neck. But she didn't know that. And if she didn't know it, he certainly wasn't going to point that out to her. She might get hysterical and start crying. Then he would get a headache and try to calm her down, and when calming her down in a normal fashion didn't work, he'd knock her out and walk off.

Yeah, that could work. He had a plan. He was'nt really stoked about it but anything was better than having a girl cry in front of him. It made him really uncomfortable when that happened. "Well, I guess you really didn't put anything in it..."

Naruto smiled at her. "Do you know why you were naked in the woods?" Naruto asked curiously as she took a sip of the tea, having finally figured that it was safe to do so. Her eyes went wide and she made a choking sound and quickly set the cup aside and coughed several times before rasping.

"What?"

"When I found you. You were laying unconscious, naked in the woods." Naruto said and watched her reaction. She looked both scared and mortified.

"P-Please tell me that your joking."

Naruto gave her a tight lipped smile and shook his head. Her face went pink, then completely drained of color as she stared at him. "Oh god. Oh my god-" Uh-oh, another melt down was starting. Naruto sighed. _I should'nt have asked. _"You really found me in the woods? Naked?" Did that mean that he had seen her scars? The thought of being left in such an open place in a vulnerable position made her stomach lurch dangerously.

She slapped a hand over her mouth and made a funny sound as she started to hyperventilate. Naruto was up and in her face in the blink of an eye, his hands gently brushing her dark hair back from her face. "You look like you're going to be sick." He looked away from her pale face and glanced around the room and found his waste basket across the room and quickly grabbed it and thrust it under her face just in time to stop his floor from being messed up.

She wretched violently several times, then set the basket aside when she felt a bit better. "I've never seen someone react like that to being left naked in some woods."

"Maybe because you've never been dragged out of your home kicking and screaming." The girl snapped, Naruto thinned his lips to keep from snapping back. _How the fuck would you know? _He had been dragged from his home so many times growing up that he had actually started leaving his apartment at night when he was younger. He had been afraid that if he didn't leave before someone could corner him, he'd die.

Some of that same fear still lingered. _Some._ But it had gotten better now that he was older. He was just paranoid that something, anything would happen and things would go back to the way that they had been before. So he was a little bit bothered by the fact that his guest thought that he had never suffered such a thing before. But it didn't bother him half as much as what she had admitted. He had thought she had been abused. Her words and her reaction had pretty much told him almost everything that he felt he should know.

He ignored the words that she had spoken, and though he could sense the warning bells going off in his head, he wasn't done asking questions.

But he was sure of one thing for certain. She was'nt a threat. She was just...odd. And lost. "What's your name?"

"Shay. It was Shiloh, but I changed it a while back."

"What's the rest of your name? Or is Shay just it?"

"Uh...Shay Ann Nicole Michale's."

What an odd name. The syllables and pronunciation was different from anything that he had ever heard before. Could she be a foreigner? "Well, Shay. It looks like the two of us are stuck together for now. Feel free to crash here as long as you need too, and if you need anything let me know."

"Uh...but I need to get back home. My famliy will worry."

"Sorry, but I can't help you get home until you remember how you got here to begin with." Naruto said as he stood up and stretched. It was well past ten at night. It was just a little odd that they had been talking that long when they had'nt said very much. Shay looked like she wanted to argue but stopped herself. "Try to get some sleep, Miss Michale's. I'll take you around the village tomorrow and we'll see if anyone has ever seen you before-" He glanced at the shirt top that she was wearing and said a silent prayer that she never found out that he had dressed her. He didn't want her to get hysterical on him again.

"We'll grab you some clothes and stuff too." Just in case she ended up staying longer than a few days. And because he didn't want her running around his apartment naked.


	5. Chapter 5

Shay nodded off much easier than Naruto had expected. Her body and her mind exhausted. He checked on her, using any means that he could use when he didn't want to get up off of his couch since he had finally managed to doze off. Leaving one of his shadow clones hidden outside of his bedroom window, just in case she decided to try a fast one and run or something. But strangely enough, she hadn't moved or stiffed since the first time he had gone to check on her before going to sleep himself.

He woke up the next morning to the feeling of being watched and cracked open his eyes a little bit and found Shay sitting a few inches from the couch looking at him, frowning then looking at something else. _Now what is she up too?_ He wondered as she looked at him again and bit her lower lip and decided to try something.

He tensed and got ready to grab her as she slowly moved forward and reached over him, she paused to put her hand, palm up in front of his nose and mouth and for a second anger rose swiftly in his chest. She was going to try and suffocate him! He was about to rip off her arm when she started to drop her hand and brushed his cheek with her finger tips and sighed the breath that he hadn't noticed that she was holding and muttered.

"Oh thank god...he's breathing."

Naruto mentally frowned and forced his body to relax as much as he could with a total stranger so close to him and reached out for Kyubbi. _Oi, furball. Did I stop breathing for a secondor so? _

**_One minute and thirteen seconds. Not enough to kill you, but obviously enough to worry her when she didn't see your chest moving. _**

_So she thought that I might be dead? _

**_Probably. _**Kyubbi admitted and Naruto sighed. Okay that made sense.

Naruto sighed and opened his eyes, Shay made a startled sound and quickly backed away from him. Naruto blinked a few times and looked at her and noted with some amusment that she had helped herself to some of his clothes. She was wearing a black sweater that was a bit too big for her in the neck and the arm area's. The neck line of the shirt was so big that it made one of the sleeves slip off of her slender shoulder, and she had the sleeves rolled up a bit so that she could use her hands. She was also wearing a pair of his pants, an old pair of jeans that he had worn when he was thirteen.

"Well, I guess borrowing some clothes sort of fixes that one problem for a little while..." Naruto said before he looked away and noted the time on the clock hanging on the wall. It was a little after eight, and he usually didn't get up until about eleven-a little habit he had formed when he realised that Kakashi, his former sensei, would never be on time for anything. Ever.

He sighed and sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands and yawned, widely. Shay watched him almost dislocate his jaw yawning and felt her eyes go wide when she saw what looked like fangs. They were big ones too. Like something you would see in a horror movie, or more adequately put, a vampire movie. The long pointy, pearly white teeth lengthened and then shrank to adjust to the blonde's mouth as he closed it and blinked at her.

"Something wrong?" He asked curiously as she stared at him wide eyed.

"Are you a vampire?" Shay blurted out without thinking. She'd always had a secret fear of undead...things. It was one of the reasons she had never visited cemetery's after dark. She had always thought that the place would turn into a large monster party. Where were-wolves, mummies, zombies, and the like would gather there and take turns dragging random people off of the streets and eating their faces.

Naruto blinked and wondered what a vampire was when Kyubbi pipped up. **_I think she just asked if you were a blood sucking dead thing._**

Naruto was quite for a second as he mulled over Shay's question while Kyubbi told him what a vampire was then answered. "No. I'm not. Why do you ask?"

"Because when you yawned I could see your fangs." Naruto cocked his head and stared at her unblinking for several minutes. He found it just a little bit amusing that Shay would notice that he had fangs right off the bat when it had taken Iruka, Sakura and even Kakashi over three years to figure that little tid bit out. But then again, Shay didn't know him. She didn't know anything about him, or at least that's what she claimed. So it was natural of her to look for little oddities that might escape the notice of others.

It was part of her survival instinct. He made a humming sound and got up off of the couch and ran his fingers through his spikey blond hair. "You hungry? I can fix us something to eat if you want." He said as he walked past her and into the kitchen and started to mess around in the fridge.

"What do you have?" Shay asked curiously as Naruto pulled out a carton of eggs, some bacon, sausage, and several other things.

"Depends on what you like. I have eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, some cereal, ramen noodles..."

"You don't eat much stuff huh."

Naruto turned his head slightly to look at her. An enigmatic smile curving his lips. "Not really. I think that this is the first time in a long time that I've had a guest staying with me. So I'm a little out of practice as a host, but-" He started to tell her that he could easily fix that. But stopped when she came up behind him. It was a stupid move, and he had to fight himself to keep from grabbing her, slamming her up against something and snapping her neck.

Instead he forced himself to relax and reminded himself that she wasn't armed, or trying to attack him, she was just standing there watching him. "You don't have to try so hard. I know a fellow lone wolf when I see one."

Naruto made a humming sound but didn't comment. Her words pretty much told him everything. She didn't really like people either. Though he doubted that she disliked people for the same reason that he did, but then again he didn't really know her very well. So anything was possible at this point. "Tell me something about yourself." Naruto said after a second or so of digging around in one of his cabinets and pulling out two pans and setting them on the stove and turning on the eyes.

"Like what?"

"What was your family like? Where did you live? How did you grow up? What are some of the things that comfort you and help you feel better when you're down?"

Shay frowned and moved to stand next to him. "So basically you're digging for information on me and my personal affairs..." Naruto's eyes flickered to her face. Hn, he may have to rethink the way that he questioned her if she could catch onto what he was doing so quickly.

"Do you have personal affairs? Affairs...period?" He asked stupidly and she flushed pink and growled at him.

"None of your damn business." Shay snapped at him. He snickered, knowing very well that that question was just a tad out of line and put the shell to the egg he had just cracked aside and turned his body to face her and leaned his hip against the counter top.

"First thing is first Miss Michale's, your a guest in my home. I would like to be the kind of good samaritan to just stay out of your way and not ask such personal questions, but I have a job to do. To protect the village, and I can't _not_ ask you questions because you may be a threat to me and mine. I _want _to trust you, and give you the benefit of the doubt, but I _need_ something to work with first. So please...just humor me."


	6. Chapter 6

"First thing is first Miss Michale's, your a guest in my home. I would like to be the kind of good samaritan to just stay out of your way and not ask such personal questions, but I have a job to do. To protect the village, and I can't _not_ ask you questions because you may be a threat to me and mine. I _want _to trust you, and give you the benefit of the doubt, but I _need_ something to work with first. So please...just humor me."

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Naruto sat across from Shay at the table his empty plate pushed to the side as he drank his coffee and studied the girl from under his lids. Ah...there was nothing like a nice piping hot cup of-

"Ew. This coffee tastes like mud." Shay said suddenly and Naruto nearly choked on the liquid in his mouth and snorted in laughter as he put his cup down. Shay gave him a dirty look and he snorted and coughed to clear his throat and looked at her. His eyes glittering like polished sapphires. Shay cocked her head and studied him for a second.

It was funny-not the coffee thing but rather the way that he looked right now. He had smiled at her a few times since last night when she had woken up, but those smiles had been nothing compared to the grin on his face now. It literally seemed to transform his features. Changing them from handsome to stunning. Holy wow. The boy was a god. Shay thought as she picked up her coffee cup and took another sip and choked on the bitter bad tasting liquid.

Ew! Naruto reached across the table and took the coffee cup from her and set it next to his own and shook his head. He gave her an amused look. "If you didn't like it the first time, you should'nt have tried drinking it the second."

"I wasn't paying attention."

Naruto chuckled. "Stuff like that happen often?"

Shay gave him a wane smile and shrugged. "Sometimes." Like nine times out of ten. When she was walking, and chewing gum at the same time. Or something to the effect.

"Okay Miss Michale's, I have some stuff that I need to ask you-"

"Okay. But I have questions myself...and please don't ask anything to personal." Shay said with a wary look and Naruto nodded his head in understanding and decided to test the waters a bit to see just how personal was too personal.

"Alright. Define personal."

"No questions about my love life or lack there of. No questions about sex. Nothing like that." Again Naruto nodded his head in understanding. Asking about those things would be a bit out of line, especially since he wasn't interested in her that way.

"Okay. Where did you grow up?"

"Tombstone. Arizona."

"Where is that located?" Naruto asked curiously. He couldn't remember a country by that name. Shay shrugged her shoulders.

"Dunno. You got a map?"

"Country? Or world?" Naruto asked curiously.

Shay thought for a second. "Maybe both just to be on the safe side." Naruto nodded and stood up abruptly and picked up her coffee cup and walked into the kitchen. He'd get the damn maps in a second but first he wanted to get her something that didn't taste like mud to drink. He poured out the coffee, rinsed out the cup and poured some juice for her and carried the cup to her and set it down in front of her before walking over to a small pack of some kind sitting on a little table next to the door and pulled out two sets of folded papers and walked back over to her and sat back down in his seat and pushed the papers across the table to her.

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Kakashi dodged the kick that Sakura aimed at his head and flipped himself back away from her and got ready to attack when Sakura asked. "Where do you think Naruto is?" He blinked and was about to respond when the girl got up in his face, he growled in annoyance and silently kicked himself for taking his eyes off of the konoichi even for a second. But to be perfectly honest he was starting to worry about Naruto too.

The boy hadn't shown up for training today, and usually he was the first one at the training grounds waiting on the rest of them, and ready to go. And after what Iruka had said the night before he was starting to think that something _was_going on with the boy. Sakura was apparently worried too or she wouldn't have said anything to him in the first place. She started to swing her fist and he suffered a bizarre moment of clarity.

He was about to have his skull crushed open by Sakura. And all he could think about was Naruto and why he was _so damn late_.

Sakura's fist stopped just a hairs breadth from his face. Not enough to hurt him but enough to let him feel the violent way that the air stirred around him. Sweat rolled down his temple as he stared at her fist and then glanced at her face. Sakura smirked at him, evilly and he made a humming sound. Damn. She got him, he was dead.

"Looks like our training is over for today." Sakura said happily as she dropped her hands back to her sides and relaxed her body. Kakashi scratched his cheek and tried not to give in to the urge to cry as his heart thudded in his chest. Dear god, if he had had any doubts about his former students before he didn't now.

The two were either going to drive him insane or kill him. "Yeah, looks like." Kakashi said as they picked up the weapons that littered the ground. Once that was done Sakura turned to him and asked curiously.

"Kakashi-sensei. Are you going to go check on Naruto now?" Kakashi looked at her as he stuffed his weapons back in the pouch at his hip and shook his head no. He was lying of course. But Sakura didn't know that. He didn't like everyone to know what a softy he had become once he had taken team seven as his students. Just like he chose not to bear his heart and soul, or show how worried and anxious he was when ever Naruto wasn't around.

He thought of the boy as his own son, in his oddly skewered way. Much like he thought of Sakura as a little sister. He simply didn't know what to do with himself when either of them was gone. There had been many times during their training under Tsunade and Jiraiya that he had walked around their homes for hours and hours at a time, even though they hadn't been there, he had just wanted to try and catch a glimpse of them.

To see them even for a second to sooth his fraying nerves. And when that hadn't worked he had begged Tsunade to send him on as many S class missions as possible. Not because he had wanted to die, but because he had wanted to distract himself and an S class mission or thirty was a good way to distract himself from their absence. It had worked, but only as long as he had been outside fo the village.

Once he was back and realised that they were still gone he had felt an over whelmingly oppressive feeling of loss and had spent several weeks camped out at Gai's place to mope around. He had nearly driven Gai up the wall with his odd habits and the way he had come and gone all hours of the night, but all in all Gai had helped him as much as he could. Something that he was loath to admit, but he was thankful to the man for not leaving him alone for too long.

"I just remembered that I have...stuff to do. Later Sakura." Kakashi said as he stuffed the last of his weapons in his pouch and started walking in the direction of Naruto's place. Sakura watched him for several seconds and shook her head in amusement. When was that man going to learn that he could lie all he wanted, but she knew his heart too well for him to be able to pull something past her.

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"I've never seen a map like these before." Shay said after several seconds or so. She had been staring at both maps for the past thirty minutes trying to make heads or tails of the layout, the country names, the marked area's, and everything else. But none of it looked familiar, and none of the names made sense.

"Oh?" Naruto asked as he watched her look back and forth, a puzzled frown on her pretty face.

"The land masses look strange, I've never heard of any of these countries, and everything looks so different-" Naruto propped himself up, resting his chin in his palm as he watched her sort through the maps before pushing them aside and sitting back in her seat and rubbing her eyes tiredly as she sighed.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I just don't see anything familiar." Shay said apoligetically. Naruto reached out and took his maps and refolded them then stood up.

"Don't worry about it right now. Come on, I promised to take you out shopping today remember."

Shay stared at him for a second or so and then nodded her head and stood up. Part of her was sort of curious to see what kind of place she had been dumped in, and part of her was feeling more than a little apprehensive about going out into public. If Rae had tried to kill her then it only made sense that she would find out that she was still alive and try to kill her again. But then again if she was in a strange place with strange people, maybe Rae wouldn't find out that she was alive after all.

Maybe.


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto studied Shay's expression and smiled a little bit as she looked around. "Holy-What the-" Several Anbu appeared on the roof tops and vanished a second later and Shay made a choking sound and turned wide eyes to look at him and pointed. "Huh?"

Naruto chuckled and reached out and forced her hand down just in case a nin with a short temper came by and decided to take offense at being pointed at like a museum display. "Something wrong?" He asked in amusment and Shay looked at him and made a weird little sound.

"Why are people running across roof tops and disappearing into thin air?"

"Because their ninja's." Naruto said without thinking and was a little startled when Shay grabbed his jacket sleeve and pulled on it slightly, he glanced down at her pale face.

"Ninja's? Thats what you said right? Ninja's?" Shay babbled for a second. Naruto cocked his head and nodded his head slightly wondering what was wrong with her. The woman had'nt been at a loss for words since she had woken up last night.

"Yeah. Ninja's." Naruto said as he nodded his head slowly.

"Huh? B-But- They- You- _Ohhhh..._I think I need to sit down." Shay said as she rubbed her temples, her face suddenly very pale. Naruto reached out and grasped her elbow in a firm yet gentle grasp and manuvered her over to the nearest building with an out door cafe and gently pushed her down in one of the seats and knelt down in front of her and studied her. She didn't look too good. What little bit of color that she had had before was completely gone, leaving her skin a scary ghostly white.

"I...should take you to the hospital." He said after a second or so. If he could explain things to Tsunade before she killed him then Shay might be allowed to live in the village. Provided that she agreed to be checked out by Ibiki and Inoichi and assigned an Anbu or two to watch her.

"N-No thanks, Naruto. I don't want to go to the hospital."

He frowned. "You should. Your head wound might have seriously damaged something." He said gently and she shook her head no. She didn't want to go to the hospital, she wanted to hide somewhere where the _trained_ weapon weilding ninja's could'nt find her. This was a normal reaction to something like this. Was'nt it? After all ninja's had supposedly died out hundreds of years ago along with the samerai!

And if they were ninja's and she really was a stranger in their land...her chances of survival were practically nill. She looked up at him after a second or so, a stricken look on her pretty face and she said very softly. "Naruto you're a nice guy. Really you are, but-" He cocked his head and waited for her to finish what she was saying. "But I want to go home now. I just can't stay here..." She reached out with a shaky hand and grasped his own and he could feel her trying to calm herself, trying to keep herself from panicing.

"Please. Please take me home."

He stared at her with a sad expression on his face. He _would_ take her home if he knew where her home was, but he didn't and he could sense the fear churning inside of her, threatening to over whelm and suffocate her. Such an oppressive feeling was'nt easy to shake.

"I'm sorry Shayera, but I don't know where you're home is. You could'nt show me on the map. Remember?" Naruto said gently, coaxingly. He was subconciously monitering her breathing and could feel that she was dangerously close to a panic attack and trying his best not to upset her further. But it was a difficult thing to do since he didn't know what had set her off to begin with.

She doubled over and hugged herself, letting her black hair fall into her face and tried to breath. But for some reason could'nt seem to pull any air into her lungs. All she knew was that she was in a village full of ninja's.

Trained assassins and killers who would see her as a threat and kill her without a second thought to how she must be feeling or thinking. Without a second thought to her family back home or what they must be going through right now, not knowing where she was or if she was even alive. Everything started to blur and she felt Naruto's hands on either sides of her face, pushing her hair back as tears slipped down her face.

He looked anxious as he tipped her head back a little bit and snarled something as he grabbed her and pulled her up out of the chair, wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her against him when her legs gave out and picked her up. He didn't know what to do to help her, and that fact was freaking him out a little bit as he turned and started running. Carrying Shay in his arms bridal style, a worried expression on his face.

_Tsunade._ Tsunade would know what to do.


	8. Chapter 8

FedoraLover23-helped/inspired this chapter together.

Everyone should thank her.

I will.

Thank you Fedora!

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Kakashi was thinking about the recent years and his student's development and couldn't help but smile. Naruto had come so far. He had gone from a knuckle head to a sanin level nin in just a few years. Kakashi was so damn proud of the boy. And equally proud of his other student Sakura. They had both been such amazing kids from the beginning. They were still amazing kids, but...

He shook his head and tried to squash the sudden feeling of envy and jealousy.

They made him feel so inadequate. So weak by comparison. And often times he found himself wondering what he could do just to keep up. It had taken a while, years actually, for him to figure out that he was feeling these things because he was lonely and afraid that one day they would look at him and start acting like he wasn't good enough to be close to them.

These thoughts were painful to a loner like him. They were maddening. But he took it all in stride, hoping, and praying that they wouldn't leave him in one way or another.

Kakashi was almost to Naruto's place when he caught a whiff of the teens scent and could tell that he was quickly coming his way. Stepping out of the way he stood there wedged between two shops looking, really, really out of place and sort of creepy and felt the need to hide his face and pulled out his Itcha-Itcha book, the red one and pretended to read it as Naruto came running by carrying a young woman in his arms and looking anxious.

_Uh-oh. _If there was trouble of some kind and a girl involved then chances were fairly good that Naruto was involved too. The teen just couldn't seem to help himself when it came to the oppisit sex. He was just too nice.

But if Naruto had found the girl wounded or something while training then it was understandable that the teen wouldn't have showed up for training. Now to follow him and see where he was heading and to find out what he could about his adorable student's new friend.

Naruto was sort of panicking.

It was an unusual occurrence, and one that he didn't particularly like since he normally didn't panic._ Ever_.

Still, the sliver of fear and the tightness in his chest drove him to run faster. It was difficult to explain, but for some reason his instincts were screaming at him, warning him that Shay was a very _important_ person, and it _felt_ to him like she was slipping away right before his very eyes. Without blood shed. Or a wound of any kind.

Like he had thought, it was difficult to explain.

But that didn't mean that he liked this feeling of helplessness. It scared him too much. Made his baser, more primitive protective instincts roar to life in ways that he hadn't realised that they could. He tightened his arms around Shay a fraction, painfully aware that if he squeezed her body any tighter he'd shatter her fragile bones and rupture her organs. So he forced himself to loosen his grip, just a little bit as he ran.

It took several minutes longer than he would have liked, twenty to be exact, before the tower came into veiw and he realised that he was being followed and tightened his grip on Shay again as he let out a low feral sound that had been known to make even the most savage shinobi piss his pants and shifted his hold on Shay and reached for his kunai, his mind going a mile a minute as he tried to figure out who was tailing him.

So far only one thing came to mind.

The possibility that the person following him, was the same person who had left Shay naked in the woods, waiting to die from exposure or an animal attack. He pulled the kunai, intending to kill the sorry bastard that would do such a thing to such a sweet girl, and stopped cold when he saw a blur of black and silver. His mind kicked into overdrive and he jumped back several feet, needing to put space between himself and his attacker when he realised that the other wasn't attacking.

He blinked and shook his head as he saw the distinctive features of his former sensei.

Kakashi stood several feet away from Naruto wondering why the boy looked so tense as he stood in a defensive position with the dark haired female held tightly against his body. He looked like he expected him to attack him. This made Kakashi frown since he had never at any time (other than the bell test) harmed his students, nor had he ever really threatened any of them aside from Sauske, but that had been back before he had defected from the village.

"Naruto?"

Naruto took several deep breaths and hung his head for a second as he put his weapon away, Kakashi studied him for a second and frowned even more when he realised that Naruto's hand was shaking slightly. Had he really scared Naruto that much? He wondered curiously as Naruto shifted his hold on the girl again until he held her bridal style in his arms and scowled at Kakashi. "I wish you hadn't come up behind me like that-"

Because he wasn't calm, and when he wasn't calm...people died. And the last thing he needed on his conscience was to accidentally kill his former sensei.

Kakashi raised a brow at him, not disturbed in the least with how close he had come to having his throat slit. _The bastard. _Naruto thought darkly as he glanced down at Shay, his expression shuttered. "Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing?" Naruto asked as he looked back up at the jounin.

Kakashi smiled at the teen. "I was just out walking around when I saw you running past me and wondered what had you running like the hounds of hell were nipping at you're heels."

"And naturally you came running to see if I was okay."

Kakashi nodded then asked. "Are you?"

Naruto sighed tiredly, this wasn't helping Shay any- He perked up instantly as that thought crossed his mind. Could Kakashi help Shay, maybe? "Hey sensei, what do you know about panic attacks?"

"I've had a few of them in my time-" Kakashi said without thinking, then flinched. Why had he said that? Naruto and Sakura might think he was something other than an emotional rock. Naruto didn't smile, didn't do as he usually would and laugh. But then Kakashi, like everyone else in the village had noticed that Naruto was doing that less and less in these past months since returning to the village.

It was worrying because no one knew what the boy was thinking anymore. And someone had made a comment about how if Naruto had finally been broken by the abuse he had suffered, then they wouldn't know anything was wrong until they found his body.

That guy was in the hospital now, sucking down chicken with a straw. Anko, Kotetsu, Ebisu, and Ibiki had done a real number on him.

But Kakashi knew that something was going on. He just knew Naruto too well not to see that something was going on. The only real problem was that he didn't know what it was. None of them did. Which might be the reason why some of the kids panicked when they couldn't find Naruto or he didn't stick to his usual daily schedule.

Naruto walked a little closer and looked down at the girl in his arms, an almost worried expression on his face. "Do you think you could look at her? She had a panic attack and I'm not sure if she just needs rest or medical treatment."

"Rest." Kakashi said automatically, Naruto looked at him and arched a brow at him before saying.

"You didn't even look at her."

"I don't really need too. All panic attacks are pretty much the same." Kakashi said with a shrug. Naruto made a humming sound and sighed. Well it looked like his little outing with Shay was being cut short. Now he just had to ditch Kakashi and get Shay back to his place without anyone seeing him.

He didn't want his activities questioned, nor did he want any unwanted attention drawn to Shay's presence in his home. "Alright, I'll take her home and let her rest." Naruto said quickly as he turned and started to walk away when he felt Kakashi's hand on his shoulder, pulling him to a stop. He turned and looked at the man blankly. Crap, Kakashi was going to suggest walking with him. He just knew it.

"How about I help you get the young lady home." It wasn't a normal request, Naruto could tell by the man's tone. Naruto studied Kakashi's face for a second, he was tempted to say no. To tell his former sensei to buzz off, but that would only make the man more curious and Naruto knew that a curious Kakashi, was a _dangerous_ one. And that was one of the two reasons that he finally gave in.

The other reason was that he knew that whatever Kakashi learned about Shay would be between himself, Naruto, and Tsunade. Everyone else would be shut out so that Shay wouldn't be shunned or excluded from making friends.

So maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Maybe.


	9. Chapter 9

Kakashi followed Naruto through the village, taking note of every turn, and the direction that they were going. They were almost at Naruto's place before Kakashi felt the need to ask. "Naruto, does that girl live around here?" He hoped so since they were in this area, but something told him-some nagging feeling told him that while the girl lived in this area, she didn't live in a normal place. Naruto said nothing as he walked up to the steps leading up to his place and started to walk up them and Kakashi got an odd sinking feeling.

Why wasn't Naruto answering him? Kakashi wondered as Naruto hit the last step and Kakashi's worry mounted as the blond shifted his hold on the girl and unlocked the door and stepped inside. Oh dear god.

What was Naruto thinking bringing a girl into his home when he was hated so much? Was he trying to put himself directly in harms way? Or was he trying to keep the girl safe by keeping her with him? Kakashi would bet that the teen was trying to protect her, but Naruto was only one person, and if he got into a fight with the villagers in an effort to keep them from the girl, it would shift the villagers attentions to her in a very dangerous and very leathal way.

Then she wouldn't stand a chance.

Kakashi stayed silent as he slipped into the apartment behind his former student and stared at the teen's back as he walked down the short hall and disappeared into his room and came back out several minutes later and quietly pulled the bedroom door closed and rejoined Kakashi, who was sitting down on his couch, his expression dark.

"When did you take her in Naruto?"

"Last night-" Naruto said as he walked by the copy nin and into the kitchen and started to rummage around in the cabinets before asking. "Do you want some tea?" Naruto asked in an absent minded manner.

Kakashi didn't answer him at first. He merely stared at the back of Naruto's head as if he were trying to will a hole to open up in the back of the teens skull. "What do you mean since last night?" Kakashi asked. Naruto didn't respond at first, merely shrugged his shoulders and fixed them both a cup of herbal tea to drink.

Naruto picked something soothing, hoping that it might calm the jounin a bit since he could practically feel his anger and worry pressing down on him. He hadn't realised just how worried the man would be. "Just what I said sensei. I took her in last night."

"Why?" What the hell would drive Naruto to do something so careless? Kakashi wondered as Naruto walked out of the kitchen with two cups and handed one to him. He took the cup without thinking and sniffed it, not because he didn't trust Naruto, but because he was trying to figure out what kind of tea the teen had fixed for him. He wrinkled his nose behind his mask and made a small humming sound.

Chamomile with honey and a small amount of almond cream. Naruto was trying to sooth his temper without saying anything. Kakashi sighed and set the cup aside and looked at Naruto as he gracefully dropped down to the floor, folding his legs under him and made himself comfortable. "Because I get lonely. And I can't go out clubbing and find a girl. So why not pick one up off fo the streets and bring her home?" He took a sip of his tea, trying to wash away the acid taste of the lie he was telling.

It didn't work, but at least he had tried. "She does'nt have family around here. She does'nt even know that I'm a demon container."

Kakashi frowned. His explination sounded odd. How could she not know that Naruto was a demon container? "Is she a local?" Naruto shrugged and took another sip to keep his mouth busy.

"Do you even know if she's a local or not?" Kakashi asked and made an irritated sound when Naruto shrugged again as Naruto thought of something more to say. Something that would make Kakashi stop asking so many questions.

"Look sensei, all I know about her is that I found her laying naked in the snow late yesterday. So I figure one of two things. 1) She's drunk, naked and knows who I am and will probably attack me. and 2) She's really, really drunk, and naked and I've got the makings for a _fantastic_ party in the making." Kakashi snorted and then laughed. Yeah, that sounded something like what Naruto might think. If he were acting like himself. But he wasn't acting like himself so he doubted that that was what Naruto had actually thought.

Still it didn't change the fact that Naruto had brought home a total stranger for companionship. "How long do you intend to keep her here Naruto? You know that it isn't safe for her." Technically Kakashi was right about that, but at the same time he was dead wrong too.

Kyubbi had kept him up a majority of the night telling him that he would be a fool not to keep Shay for any one reason, and he had to admit having her around might keep him from going feral at least until the villagers decided to hurt her to get to him. Then he'd end up killing a whole bunch of people that he didn't even like to get to her and save her, and Tsunade and Sakura would be pissed at him and it would cause a whole lot of trouble.

Yet he also knew that Shay was alone in the world right now and would need someone to keep her out of trouble, and protect her. So to say that he didn't exactly _care_ about the dangers would be an understatment.

He _had_ assumed responsibility for her, and he would stand by his choice.

Even if Kakashi and the others might protest. "I think I'll keep her here until I can find a way to get her safely home." Naruto finally said before adding, "I want to introduce her to the others." Because if he didn't go to them, they would come to him and that would cause some more problems. Especially since Shay might start to feel trapped and closterphobic.

Which in turn would cause him to feel irritated and worried-

Yeah, he'd have to get her out of his apartment and introduce her to the others and maybe ask them to help him watch her since they knew that he was the Jinchiriki, and she didn't. The more friendly eyes he had helping him watch her, the safer she would be while staying with him.


	10. Chapter 10

Two hours later Naruto closed his front door and locked it and waited until he heard Kakashi's foot steps walking away before he stepped away from the door and walked down the hall, intending to check on Shay when his bedroom door opened a little bit and she peeked out. He stopped and cocked his head, a curious expression on his face. How long had she-

"I've been up for the past twenty minutes-" Shay said softly as he pushed the door open a little more so that he could see her better.

"Are you okay? Do you need anything?" He asked gently. Shay shook her head no as he reached out and framed her face like he had last night when she had gotten really scared, and she stood there as he looked her over before letting her go. Naruto must be a very worried person to look her over when she wasn't hurt, but part of the reason for his behavior might have something to do with the fact that she was wounded yesterday when he brought her here.

"I'm okay... Sorry about freaking out." She mumbled as she pushed her long dark hair back away from her face. Naruto nodded his head and stepped back so that she could slip past him if she wanted out of the room. She slipped by him, her body brushing up against his own slightly, and he got an uncomfortable look on his face as she blushed and ducked her head and walked down the hall to the living room.

He followed her. A mite curious/worried about her as she walked over to his couch and sat down. "Are you hungry?" Naruto asked from the hallway. He felt just a little bit awkward now that he was alone with Shayera again. She looked at him and shook her head no. She had a bad headache and was worried that if she tried to eat something now, she'd get sick.

"Alright. So no food..." Naruto said as he tried to think of what to do. They might need to try going out again since Shay had freaked out before they could hit any of the stores and get her some clothes. He might have to coax her into agreeing to go out again, and he'd have to make their trip short, but hopefully he could avoid any more mishaps, and while they were out he might be able to track down Shika or Neji or even Kiba and ask them to swing by the park in a day or so and meet Shay.

He figured since nins freaked her out that he would have to warn them to come dressed as civilians and not say anything about what they did for work. "Look Shay, I know that you're freaked out by the whole-"

"Ninja's thing."

He nodded his head. "Yeah. The ninja's thing. But we never got you any clothes and stuff earlier-"

"So you want to go out again." Shay said weakly and Naruto walked over to her and dropped down to one knee in front of her and grasped her hands and frowned, god her fingers felt like ice. Either she had very poor circulation, she was utterly terrified to go outside, or he'd have to make a note of getting her some mittens so that her pretty little fingers didn't get frost bite.

"I know that your scared Shay, but trust me. The big bad ninja's won't hurt you." Naruto said gently, trying to make her feel better but was sort of at a loss as to what to do to help her feel better. Shay squeezed his fingers and gave him a nervous smile, acknowledging his words, even if she was having trouble believing them. She was silent for several moments, trying to think of a way out of this, but after turning it over in her mind several times she sighed and nodded her head, there was no way out of this trip.

That's all there was to it. She was the only person who knew what size she wore, and what she liked. Okay Naruto... I give. She said tiredly and Naruto brushed her dark hair back away from her face and kissed her cheek and whispered.

"We'll keep the trip short."

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A few minutes later Naruto was leading Shay through the crowded streets of Konoha village by the hand. Ignoring the angry stares of the villagers as they passed them. The shop is just up ahead- Naruto said loudly, hoping that the villagers would simply think that he was trying to help someone who didn't know their way around the village, instead of thinking that he was out on a date or something.

Shay said nothing as she tried to keep up with him, something that was difficult to do since Naruto seemed to pick up his pace every few minutes or so. Whenever she felt herself starting to be dragged along behind him she would pull on his arm in an effort to remind him that she was there and couldn't keep up at such a fast pace. She tugged on his arm again when she stumbled and started to fall, Naruto took a step back towards her and turned around and caught her before she could get half way down, his arms easily slipping around her waist as she slammed into him.

She wasn't sure how long they were like that before she heard someone call out Naruto's name and felt his arms tighten around her for a fraction of a second as he abruptly let her go and pushed her away a little bit as he was tackled to the ground by a very large, monstrous white and brown dog. "Naruto!" Shay cried in horror as Naruto rolled around the ground as the dog snapped and snarled and bit him on the arm.

Shay looked around for a second wondering why no one was rushing to save him before she reached out and grabbed the large dog by the scruff of the neck and tried to pull him off of the teen when she heard a short, loud, high pitched whistle and jumped as someone called out, "Akamaru, get off of Naruto. You're scaring his girlfriend."

The large dog jerked itself from her grasp and shook it's large head and ran away. Shayera blinked and looked towards the direction the massive beast had run off too when Naruto let out a loud angry sounding growl and flipped himself up onto his feet looking pissed. He reached out and put his hand on Shayera's shoulder and gently pushed her behind him and snarled at the grinning dog nin standing at least thirty feet away.

Oh he could just cheerfully murder Kiba for saying the words 'Naruto's' and 'girlfriend' together in the same sentance in that_ loud _and obnoxious voice of his. He could already see at least thirty nins or more checking Shayera out. _Goddammit Kiba._

_"_Hows it going Naruto?" Kiba asked happily, totally oblivious to what he had just done.

_"I'm going to beat your ass." _Naruto growled angrily as Kiba walked up to them. Kiba blinked at the blond and wondered what he had done to set him off. He had just been playing. Naruto's eyes flashed scarlet and Kiba held up his hands palm out and looked nervous.

"Whoa, calm down there Naruto. I was just messing with you." He said as Naruto took a few dangerous steps forward and grabbed him by the front of his jacket and pulled him in close and snarled.

_"You baka, do you have any idea what you've just done?" _

_"_Obviously not or I'd be a bit more remorseful." Kiba said half jokingly, hoping to defuse Naruto's anger. It didn't work. If anything his word seemed to upset Naruto further. Naruto bared his teeth at his friend and was about to say something else when several other people came walking up.

"Naruto! How are you my friend?" Naruto flinched and let go of Kiba and tried to reign in his temper as Lee came running up. Neji, Shino and Hinata walked behind him. 

_Oh dear god. _Naruto thought tiredly. This was not what he had had in mind when he had brought Shayera out to get her some things. Well okay, it was close. But still not what he had really wanted. Turning around he checked to see where Shayera was, suddenly feeling just a bit paranoid that someone might try to grab her or separate her from him.

He grasped her hand again and pulled her around to his side and forced himself to smile for his friends. "H-Hey guys. What's up?"

"Training." Lee said happily.

"Nothing."

"Was bored and couldn't find anything to amuse myself." Shino said.


	11. Chapter 11

Naruto had an almost pained expression on his face when everyone''s attention turned to Shayera. And so to quickly get her away from the others scrutiny he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and pulled out his I.D. and handed it to her. She gave him a puzzled look for a second and he leaned down a bit and whispered. "Go get your things. And let me know if someone is mean to you or if you need more money." Shay blushed a bright red and started to stutter.

"N-Naruto! I-I can't take- You might need- Oh god this is embarrassing..." She finally groaned and hid her face in her hands, Naruto looked puzzled for a moment before realising that despite how quiet and shy Shay seemed she was in fact a very independent person, having a total stranger assume the role of provider was a tad bit embarrassing to her. It made her feel weak and helpless. He chuckled and reached out, brushing her dark hair back from her face.

"Alright lets make a deal-" He said softly as he cast a glance at his very silent, very amused looking friends. Gods they were going to ride his ass for acting as if he were Shay's lover, but they were simply reading too much into things. Again, he wasn't interested in her that way.

**_And thus the kit's brain died a slow and horrible death from lack of good lovin. _**Kyubbi growled in irritation. When was it's kit going to get with the program and live a little.

_Shut it fur ball. _Naruto said affectionately.

**_Never! You need a mate! That girl would make a good one-_**

_How the hell would you know?_

**_I can smell her soul, kit. She's all warmth and sweetness. _**Kyubbi said wistfully and Naruto had to suppress a shiver of longing. Damn stupid fox. Maybe if he went out and got laid it would shut up, but until Shay was settled in and protected enough, he was stuck.

_Ew. Stop smelling her._

**_Can't. You're smelling her. _**

_Then I'll stop._

**_And die from lack of air, I think not._**

Naruto mentally rolled his eyes and ignored the demon as he whispered in Shay's ear. "Let me treat you for now, and when you're settled and have a job, you can treat me to dinner. And I'll call it even."

Shay didn't say anything for a second or so then nodded her head and quickly stood up on her tip toes and gave him a quick kiss on the lips then pulled back and ran into the store leaving a stunned Naruto standing there in the street looking like lightning had stuck him...five times.

Everything tingled. His lips, his scalp, his whole body just seemed to be one big electrified...whatever. Lee snickered, drawing his attention back to the small group of friends standing several feet from him. "How youthful of you to finally get a nice friend Naruto."

Naruto growled low in his throat and walked over to the store and leaned his back against the front window, it would be easiler to keep an eye on Shay from here, and moniter the streets for hidden threats to her health too. "I have nice friends _galore_, Lee." It was a female companion that he lacked.

"So when did you and..."

"Her name is Shayera Ann Nicole Michale's. She goes by Shay."

"So when did the two of you get together?" Neji asked curiously. The girls name was odd. Sounding almost as if it were forign. Naruto ignored the question and simply shrugged his shoulders. There was no way in hell that he was telling his friends that he had found her left to die in her birthday suite. Kiba might use the information as blackmail. And god knew what Neji and Shino would do with the information.

Not that he didn't trust the guys but...well, he didn't trust them.

And on top of it all Sakura would inevitably find out about Shay and then all hell would break loose. Especially since she might feel the need to rescue Shay from him. And that would cause problems because Kyubbi had taken a liking to the girl for _all _the wrong reasons and might take over him and attack Sakura. "She seems nice." Hinata said softly and Naruto felt himself smile.

"She is." Shay was very nice, in his opinion. And that was why he worried about her. He may not know much about her but he knew enough to know that she was a very kind, some what shy, strong, independent, and very sweet girl.

Kyubbi stirred in the back of his mind. **_You like her! You like like her!_**

_No. I do not._

**_Yes you do! I can sense it when you think of her!_**

_Stop reading my mind stupid. _Naruto snapped at the demon in irritation. The others were quiet for several seconds before Lee asked, "Naruto, does she know that you're-"

Naruto cut him off, his blood boiling a little bit at the stupid question. "_No_. But she knows something is off with me. She saw my fangs this morning when I woke up and all she asked was if I was a vampire."

"A vampire? What's that?"

"Kyubbi told me it was an undead creature that lives off of human blood."

"Ew."

"Yeah." Naruto agreed as he peeked over his shoulder into the shop and saw Shay standing in front of a mirror looking over the outfit that she was trying on. The off the shoulder white sweater and the ankle length flowing black skirt. She looked really cute in it.

Kiba came over to him and peeked in the window. "See something that you like Naruto?"

"I see a pretty girl and a dead man walking." Naruto deadpanned before looking at Kiba, his anger from earlier not yet forgotten. Kiba looked at Naruto and wondered what it was that he had done to upset the blond and mentally went over everything that he had done and said since seeing the blond and felt the bottom drop out of his stomach once he realised his mistake.

Shit. He had opened his big mouth and drawn attention to Naruto's girlfriend. He banged his head on the window and Naruto turned his head slightly when he caught sight of several men who had been eyeing Shay a few minutes ago, heading towards the shop and bared his teeth in a silent snarl.

Fuck. The fools were actually going to do something stupid like trying to hurt Shay in broad day light. In front of people. It shouldn't have surprised him so much but for some odd reason it did. "Neji. Lee. Do me a favor and get Hinata and Shay out of here. Go find Shikamaru. I'll meet up with you once Kiba, Shino and I are done with the fools." Naruto said as he pushed away form the building as Shay was walking out of the shop with several bags.

She smiled at Naruto as he looked at her and was startled when one of Naruto's friends grabbed her and picked her up, nearly causing her to drop her things. The tall young man with the long dark hair and pale eyes gave her an apologetic look and muttered a soft "sorry" before he took off running away from the store. Shay screamed out Naruto's name her mind going numb with shock and horror.

She didn't know what was going on. But she was pretty sure that Naruto had just stood by and watched her get kidnapped...


	12. Chapter 12

Naruto watched Neji, Lee and Hinata run off with Shay, guilt tugging at his heart. He'd have to end this quickly or Neji would have a serious fight on his hands. **_Oh kit, you have no idea how badly Shay is going to hurt you for this._**

_Your right. But there was nothing that I could do about the sircumstances Kyubbi. It was either get her out of here or sit back and let them do something horrible to her. _

**_Let them. Let them. Are you still hung up on those damned laws. _**

_I can't defend myself, and someone else. It's either one or the other. _

**_Your human laws be damned. Let me out._**

_I can't. _

**_I won't kill them kit!_**

_No. But you'd like too-_

**_Hell yes I'd like too! They are targeting your mate!_**

_She's not my- _

"Where did the Hyuga take your little bitch, demon?" One of the men, a shinobi from the looks of him asked as he stepped up.

Naruto heard Kyubbi let out a loud angry roar and felt his chakra flair, the red surrounding him slowly. The man took the time to strike out while Naruto was distracted, hoping to hurt the teen. Naruto acted on instinct and grabbed the man's hand, the kunai (when the hell had he pulled that damn thing?) cutting into his palm, laying the skin open almost to the bone as Naruto struck out with his foot and brought it down on the inside of the man's knee with enough force to shatter the bone.

The man screamed in pain and started to go down as another man came running up behind Naruto and tackled him to the ground. Naruto barely had time to register that someone was on top of him hitting him before he felt the need to lash out and knocked the person punching him off of him and jumped back up.

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Neji had'nt been able to find Shikamaru, not suprising since the shadow nin usually made himself scarce so that he could take long naps. So instead of taking Shay to Shika, he took her to the Hyuga compound and climbed up the steps, ignoring the strange look that he got from his uncle as he passed him, shay squirmed and hit his shoulder and stomach like she had been doing every few minutes of so.

Her fear of him was a nearly tangible thing, he could feel it pressing down on her like a heavy weight. Threatening to overwhelm and crush her. This wasn't normal fear. Neji had been on a few missions that had delved into human trafficking, and forced prostitution to know that Shay apparently thought that he was going to hurt her in the most damning way. 

_Why hadn't Naruto taken the time to explain to her what was going on? _Neji thought in irritation.

At least if he had, Shay would'nt be acting like he was a monster who was going to eat her alive. He opened the door to Hinata's room and glanced over his shoulder to see her and Lee right behind him and slipped inside and set Shay down just a few feet from a chair, hoping that maybe if he didn't put her any where near the bed, she might feel a little less scared. The instant that he let her go she made for the door.

He made a soft huffing sound and reached out and grabbed her and dragged her back. She screamed and lashed out with her fist, nailing him in the chest hard enough to force the air from his lungs and double him over. His grip loosened and she jerked herself free and ran for the door again. Neji growled when he finally managed to suck some air into his lungs again and went after her. Shay was more than half way to the door when she realised that the big guy was moible again and looked over her shoulder at him and squeeked and started to run when he caught her again.

One hand gripped her shirt and his other one slipped between her legs as he lifted her up off of the floor and threw her back down hard enough to rattle her nerves badly when she hit. "Stay there." He growled in irritation as he glared down at her. His pale eyes narrowed in anger.

He was starting to think that Naruto might have some explaining to do.


	13. Chapter 13

Naruto took the hand that Shino offered him and let the taller male pull him to his feet. "Are you alright Naruto?" Shino asked as he stared at the blood on the blonds face and clothes. Naruto licked at the corner of his mouth and nodded his head.

"Yeah...I'm good. Thanks man." Naruto said as he lifted his arm and wiped at the blood on his face, totally ignoring the stab wound in his side, and how it burned and throbbed in protest of the movement.

"Are you sure that your okay Naruto? Your sort of bleeding all over the place." Kiba pointed out.

Naruto turned his head and looked down at his side and made an irritated sound as he took stock of his wound. So far he had just been bloodied up really good, the bruises on his face were already fading and the wound in his side, while painful, wasn't life threatening. So he wasn't worried about it. He'd just have to take it easy for the next few days.

Which meant skipping training for a day or so. He could maybe use that time to get to know Shay a little more so he supposed that it wasn't a total mess. "I'm fine. It's already closing. Lets go find Neji and the others."

"Worried about your girl?" Kiba asked softly.

Naruto gave him an angry look and put his index finger against his lips and looked around, secretly hoping that Kiba would stop calling Shay _his_ girl in public. It wasn't good for Shay's health. It wasn't good for _his_ health either. But Kiba did sort of have a point.

He was worried about her, but not for the reasons that Kiba or anyone else might think. The look on her face when she had screamed his name had been one of absolute terror, and he didn't like feeling responsible for that look.

He needed to find her and put her fears to rest, and apologise to Neji for the damage that he might have suffered.

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Neji was at his wits end. Really he was.

It had been almost an hour since Naruto had asked him to take the girl some place safe and he was starting to get worried. About Naruto _and_ the girl. So far she had broken three lamps, one over his head in an effort to escape, and now he had her laying on the bed, her hands and ankles bound, an old rag stuffed in her mouth. He knew that this wasn't the best way to alleviate her fears, but dammit, this was the only thing that he could think of to keep her from hurting herself and someone else.

And while he hadn't exactly wanted to bind and gag the frightened girl, he had felt that he simply didn't have a choice.

No doubt Naruto would beat his ass for this, but Naruto had wanted her _safe_ and now she was.

He lifted her up a little bit off of the bed and stuffed a couple of pillows under her head, wanting to make her as comfortable as possible then lowered her back down onto them and then grabbed a few more and used them to prop up her feet and grabbed a knitted quilt and covered her legs with it.

Once that was done he walked over to the door and stuck his head out and called for Hinata. His cousin was sitting on one of the steps watching Lee spar with her father when he called her. She looked towards him then stood up and dusted her pants off and walked over to him. "Is something wrong?" Hinata asked curiously. Neji gave her a tight lipped smile. Where to start?

"No-" _Yes, everything was wrong._ "Would you mind sitting with her until Naruto comes to get her? I need to have a word with him when he gets here." Neji said gently, Hinata looked into the room and paled slightly when she saw Shay tied up and gagged.

_Oh my._ "Hinata, please pay attention." Neji said as he used his hand to turn Hinata's head so that she was looking at him again. She flushed red with embarrassment as he continued speaking.

"Don't untie her until Naruto is in the room. I don't want her to hurt you in an effort to run away." Hinata nodded her head in understanding. Neji smiled at her and kissed her forehead and then left the room.

Hinata stood there in the door way wondering what she was supposed to do with the bound and gagged girl. And finally decided to just talk to her and try to calm her. She knew that Naruto would be very upset if Shay sustained any sort of damage while in Neji's care. "U-Um, h-hi." Hinata said meekly as she dragged the chair over to the bed and sat down in it. Shay looked at her through wide frightened teary eyes and Hinata felt the nearly over whelming urge to smack Neji for waiting so long to have her sit with the girl.

This is _not_ the way that Naruto had wanted her taken care of. "My n-name is Hinata. Umm, I-I'm sorry about m-my cousin. He's n-not a bad guy. Just a little r-rough around t-the edges." Although to Shay, Neji might look more than a _little_ rough around the edges.

"He's not a bad guy." Hinata said again, almost nervously. Shay gave her a pointed look and Hinata sighed. God who was she trying to convince? Shay obviously didn't believe her or she wouldn't be giving her the, 'Please run that by me again' look.

"You look very uncomfortable...would you promise not to be too loud if I remove the gag?" Hinata asked as she reached for the piece of cloth and removed it, then waited to see if Shay would scream, just in case. Shay took several deep breaths, dragging air into her lungs as if she had been deprived of air and Hinata's heart went out to the girl. It must be horrible to be so scared.

"Let me go...Please let me go..." Shay begged after several seconds, Hinata gave her a sad look.

"I can't. If I let you go you might hurt me and run away."

Shay made a soft whimpering sound and tried to convince the girl that she wouldn't run away. Of course she was lying, but she had too so surely the girl wouldn't think badly of her.

Hinata knew what Shay was doing before she even opened her mouth, this was her survival instinct kicking in. Pretend to go with whatever your captor had planned for you and get them to drop their guard and attck them and run. Hadn't Neji told Shay why they had brought her here? Hadn't he tried to calm her by telling her that Naruto would come here as soon as he dealt with the threat?

"I can't let you go Shay. If I do Naruto won't be able to find you."

"Naruto..." Shay's mind latched on to the boys name like a life line and she instantly seemed to calm a little bit. Hinata felt a pang of jealousy but smiled anyways.

"That's right. Naruto will be coming to get you soon. Do you think that you can be good until he gets here?" Hinata asked as she reached out and brushed Shay's dark hair away from her tear streaked face. Shay was quiet as she mulled over the strange girl's words and finally nodded her head.

Yes. She could behave until Naruto came for her.

And then she was going to give him hell.

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This is starting to look more and more like an Naruto/Oc.

And i'm still trying to figure out how to get Kakashi in there too.

So far all i can come up with is him stalking Naruto and shay for a little while.

But i already have the end figured out.

Isn't that sad?


	14. Chapter 14

Kakashi walked around the village to clear his head. He wasn't sure what to make of Naruto's new situation, but he knew getting upset about it and begrudging the boy a little companionship was just plain...selfish, among other things.

He could understand where Naruto was coming from. Really he could. Because like him, Naruto had grown up alone in a world that couldn't care less if he lived or died. Like Kakashi; Naruto had been used, abused, and thrown aside and left to die by many people.

That's why the chance for something _more_ was simply too good to pass up. Naruto _wanted_ to be close to someone. He _needed_ to be close to someone. He had grown up alone, without the warmth and affection of a family. And because of who he was, he had to hide his affection for others or he would be forced to make a painful choice between keeping someone with him, and possibly watching them get hurt or killed. Or to let them go and still watch them get hurt of killed.

It was a lose, lose situation. And that was something that Naruto understood. And yet he had still taken that poor girl home with him. Kakashi was in awe of the kid for pulling such a gutsy move. He rounded the corner and stopped when he realised that he was close to the jounin apartments. Naruto had finally found someone, and that was good. But the boy would need all the help he could get to take on the villagers and win.

_Maybe it's time I called a meeting with others who care for him._

If he could get some of the other jounin to help out, then Naruto's chances of having a happy ending would be much higher. And it was technically his duty as Naruto's superior, to watch his back. He smiled and put his book away and started walking again.

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Naruto landed in front of the Hyuga compound and looked around as Shino and Kiba and Akamaru landed on either side of him. What the hell were they doing here? Naruto wondered before Kyubbi said, **_They probably couldn't find Shikamaru._**

_Ah, yeah, that could be why they were here instead of with Shika_. Naruto thought as he tipped his head back and took a deep breath, his tracking instincts demanding that he check the air for Shay's scent one more time just to be sure. His eyes opened a second later as he took another deep breath, inwardly purring as his sharp sense of smell caught Shay's distinctly feminine scent.

"Are they here?" Kiba asked.

Naruto nodded his head and walked forward, ignoring the few Hyuga that had paused in their tracks to stare at him. He glanced at them and gave them a cold smile, amused at the way they all paled and scurried in different directions as fast as they could and ran away.

Not that he could blame them any. His predatory instincts still riding him hard after that fight twenty minutes ago. It would take a day in a half at least to reign them in since Kyubbi had gotten involved.

Naruto walked up the steps and followed his nose to Hinata's room and opened the door and peeked inside. Hinata nearly jumped out of her skin when he whistled to let her know that he was there, and turned around her chair to look at him, her eyes wide in shock. "Naruto-kun!"

There was dried blood on his face, and fresh blood on his side, soaking through his shirt, jacket and running down his pants leg. He looked like he was in pain. Like he had been beaten really badly, but he stood there saying nothing as he looked at Shay, his blank expression changing, the cold air around him warming.

"Shay, are you okay?" He asked curiously as he walked across the room and stopped next to the bed and reached out to touch her, her face looked so pale that he wondered just what Neji had done to frighten her so badly.

But that wasn't what really caught his attention. What really caught his attention were the ropes around her wrists and ankles. He sat down on the edge of the bed, completely forgetting that he was bleeding all over Hinata's things and hooked his index finger through the small space between her wrists and turned cold azure eyes to Hinata and asked in a cold tone. "Why is she bound?"

"Neji said something about her possibly hurting herself or someone else." Hinata said, not in the least bit phased by the icy cold stare he leveled her way.

Naruto nodded his head slightly and pulled out a kunai and slipped it between the ropes and cut them off of her. Shay didn't say anything, she just sat there shaking and trying not to cry as he cut the ropes away and grasped her wrists, one at a time and massaged them to get the blood flowing through her numb hands again before he reached for her, intending to pick her up and hug her when she growled warningly and punched him in the side where he had been stabbed.

Naruto yelped and flung himself away from her and the bed as fast as he could, needing to avoid having his wound reopened by her blow and looked at her in shock. What the hell? "_YOU JERK_."

"Huh?"

"_WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM_?"

Naruto got a nervous look on his face and looked around as Shay got off of the bed and walked towards him, looking like she could easily and cheerfully murder him. Problem? Problem, he didn't have a problem aside from the homicidal female who was making her way over to him. "Huh?"

"_YOU JUST STOOD THERE AND LET THAT STRANGE MAN GRAB ME AND RUN AWAY! WHY_?" Shay cried as fresh tears welled up and slipped down her cheeks. Naruto blinked at her and then looked at Hinata. Was that why she was so pissed? Because a strange man had grabbed her and run? Or was she upset because she had thought that Neji was going to hurt her and she had been really scared?

Had anyone even _bothered_ to explain _anything_ to her? Naruto wondered as he inched a little close to her. Apparently forgetting that she had almost felled him with that punch to his side. "Shay listen to me. You were never in any danger. Neji wouldn't hurt you. I'd kill him if he did."

"I don't believe you." Shay sobbed as she wiped her face with her hands. Naruto was about to say something else when Neji came walking into the room.

"Naruto, good to see that you still know your way here. I need to speak with you."

"Not now Neji." Naruto gritted out from between clenched teeth. He needed to smooth things over with Shay before he went anywhere.

"It's about you're _little bird_." Neji said, using code to refer to Shay. Naruto looked at him. What could Neji know about Shay that he didn't?

"Alright. Hina, would you mind sitting with her for a little bit longer?"

"No. I-I don't mind." Hinata said softly. Naruto nodded his head and reached out and ran his knuckles along the curve of Shay's cheek, causing her to raise her head and look at him. Her pale, tear streaked face causing his chest to tighten painfully. This was what he had been trying to avoid. The fear and pain in her expression was almost unbearable to him, though he didn't understand why.

"We'll talk more about this in a little bit okay." Naruto said gently as the let his hand drop to his side and walked out of the room with the long haired male that had scared her so much.


	15. Chapter 15

"Okay Neji. What did you want?" Naruto asked when they were out of ear shot of Hinata's bedroom. Neji didn't say anything at first, he just grabbed Naruto and slammed him into the nearest wall and growled at him.

"First off, I don't appreciate _not_ being told that your girlfriend spent time as someones _toy_." Neji snarled. Naruto blinked and cocked his head, his mind whirling with questions. Oh he hoped that Neji didn't mean what he thought he meant. And yet he needed to know, so he asked.

"What do you mean?"

The look on Neji's face was one of disbelief. "What I mean is- That she was- Don't you know Naruto?"

Naruto closed his eyes for a second and mentally went over some things, the trust issues, the fear of everything unknown. Jesus Christ. Why hadn't he realised Shay had been...

"How do you know?" Naruto asked after a moment or two, his curiosity getting the better of him. How was it that Neji was the first to realise such a thing had happened to her when he hadn't had her for more than two hours.

"It was her_ fear_ Naruto. Her fear of me was unnatural. Most people that I carry off get pissed and demand answers. They don't scream and cry and hit and kick. They don't fight and try to escape." And they certainly didn't break a lamp over his head. His head still ached from that.

"Have you seen many victims like her before?"

Neji nodded his head. "Yes. A time or two. Things never really ended well for them. They have a tendency to self destruct. Their sorrow and shame is so great that often times they act out in certain way and it builds up until they destroy themselves."

Naruto took a deep breath as Neji let him go. "Fuck. I wish that you hadn't told me that." Naruto said as he ran his hand through his hair. What was he supposed to do now? How was he supposed to help her?

**_Love heals all things._** Kyubbi said gently. For once he wasn't going on about mates and shit.

_And what exactly does that mean Kyubbi?_

**_If you want her to get past this, let her know that you're here for her. Help her regain her confidence, and control. Let her know that it wasn't her fault and that she has nothing to be ashamed of. Besides kit, no one else in the village would understand her pain as much as you._**

_True. But I was never really raped._

No he had never really been raped, but he had been molested to a degree. And while he would prefer that no one ever be told about those times, he understood that maybe it was finally time to say something about it. And maybe Shay would be able to open up about hers and confront _it_ too. "Thanks Neji...but I need to get Shay and go home. Where are her bags?"

"I sent them to your place via Lee about an hour ago." Neji said as Naruto nodded his head and quietly thanked him before walking away looking stricken and a little shaken.

(**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Naruto walked back into Hinata's room and looked at Shay as Hinata stood up and walked over to him. "I explained what you asked Neji to do when you sent her away. And why you sent her away. She's still a mite upset with you. But she's much calmer now." Naruto forced himself to smile.

"Thanks Hina." She smiled at him and left the room, leaving him and Shay alone for the time being.

"Are you okay now?" He asked awkwardly as she stood up and walked over to him. He stood there, his body tense, expecting her to strike him again. Instead she just wrapped her arms around him and leaned into him. Confusing him further.

"S-Shay?"

"I'm sorry I hit you Naruto..." Shay said softly as she hugged him. He couldn't have been any more bowled over if she had kicked his head in. Were girls always so weird?

He wrapped his arms around her, noting with some wary amusement that his wounded side was hurting five times worse than it had before. _Jeez she had one hell of a punch._ He thought warily as he hugged her back. "That's okay Shay. I didn't really need to use my side anytime soon anyways." He said half jokingly and she giggled softly and pinched him on the leg. He smiled against her hair even as his heart ached in his chest.

He wasn't sure that he could help her over come her attack. But he wanted to be there for her, to protect her from such pain again. Since she had no one else to protect her. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and let her go. "Come on Shay. Lets go back to my place. I'll fix our dinner and we'll play a few hands of poker." Naruto said gently as he took her hand. Shay nodded and smiled at him and let him lead her out of the room and back outside where the sky was starting to turn dark.


	16. Chapter 16

Naruto slipped into his apartment behind Shay and flicked on the light closest to the door so that she could see. Since she wasn't a shinobi and he doubted that she had very good night vision. And since she was afraid of shinobi, he would have to act like a normal person for a while. At least until he could ease her into the mind set that shinobi weren't all bad. He unzipped his ruined jacket and shrugged it off and groaned when his side burned like fire.

Ow. _Ow_, _that hurts_.

**_And your mate didn't help things much when she hit you. _**Kyubbi snickered in amusement.

Naruto sighed tiredly. Again with the mate stuff. Why was Kyubbi so hung up on him getting a girlfriend?

**_Not a girlfriend kit. A mate. A life long companion. The female that will one day bear your young._**

_Not. Going. To. Happen. _Naruto mentally growled at the fox demon. He would not condemn a girl-_any_ _girl _to that fate.

Not Shay.

Not Hinata.

Nor Sakura.

None of them.

"Do you need a first aid kit?" Shay asked as she looked him over. Funny how she hadn't noticed all of the blood until now. Maybe she was a little more air headed than she had initially thought. God wouldn't her friends back home have a good laugh about that if they knew.

Naruto looked at her and smiled. "Nah. Blood isn't mine." He lied. There was no point in telling her that he was hurt because his wounds were already more or less healed. Even the one on his side had closed up. It just hurt because she had hit him hard enough to nearly cripple him.

Shay blinked at him and cocked her head. If the blood wasn't his, then who did it belong too? "Uh... I hate to ask-"

"Then don't." Naruto said as he walked past her and threw his ruined jacket into the trash and walked into the kitchen and opened one of the drawers and pulled out a clean wash cloth and turned on the tap and ran the water over the cloth to wet it then turned off the tap and wrung out the rag and used it to clean his face off.

"But I really feel the need-" Shay said after a minute long pause.

"Alright. Then do." Naruto said as he used the wet rag to scrub his face.

"But I don't really want to seem nosey-" Shay said as she fidgeted with her shirt sleeve, Naruto lowered the rag a little bit and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and snorted in amusement. Silly girl. If something was on her mind she should just say so.

"I'm not a yo-yo Shay. Either ask or don't. It's that simple." Naruto said as he set the dirty bloody wet rag aside for a second and started to peel off his shirt then stopped, remembering that he was in the presence of a lady and having him strip in front of her might cause some issues.

He lowered the hem of his shirt back in place and decided that it might be better to ask Shay if she would mind turning around for a second or waiting to ask him whatever when he came back into the room. "Shay. Would you mind if I took off my shirt?" Because he needed to clean the blood off of his side and in a little bit he'd have to clean the blood off of his leg too.

But first he'd take care of the blood on his side, then he'd cook some dinner for them, then he'd play a few hands of poker and talk with Shay for a little bit. _Then_ he'd take a shower and settle in for the night.

Priorities.

Priorities meant everything to a guy like him. Especially when another person was involved.

Shay looked a little surprised by his question but shook her head no. She didn't mind as long as he kept his pants on. He gave her a peculiar look then pulled his shirt off and grabbed the wet rag and rubbed it along his ribs where the blood had dried and noted the faint purplish bruise there from where Shay had punched him. _I wonder why that's still there._

Kyubbi snickered. **_It's to serve as a warning to you kit. Never upset your female._**

_She's not my female Kyu. _

**_Liar. I can sense you're growing intrest in her._**

_Shut up. _Naruto hissed at the demon, refusing to admit to himself that he _was_ getting interested in her as he set the bloody rag aside again grabbed a frying pan. He really needed to stop talking to Kyubbi, it was distracting him from his priorities and Shay needed to eat something as much as he did. "Do you mind eating stir fried chicken and noodles?" Naruto asked as he glanced at Shay over his shoulder.

"No. I don't mind. If you want I'll help." Shay offered as she walked towards the kitchen. He looked at her again and nodded as he pulled out a sharp knife and a cutting board and set them in front of her then pulled out some vegetables. If Kakashi had been here he would have died of shock. Naruto mused as he set the vegetables aside after washing them. He picked up the knife and held it up in front of her eyes and said very softly.

"I'm assuming that you know how to handle one of these. Remember to cut away from yourself. And to _watch _your fingers." Shay nodded her head and he smiled and flipped the blade over in his hand and held it out to her. She took the blade and grabbed one of the vegetables and cut it in half as he turned his back to her and listened to the soft clicking sound of the knife against the cutting board.

Shay cut up some of the vegetable in her hand and set it aside before asking curiously. "Sooo, what's a guy like you do for fun?"

"I sit on my roof and listen to the radio." Naruto said automatically before asking.

"What do you usually do for fun?"

"I visit with my best friend. And I like to mess with her mind a bit."

"She's really excitable?"

"Excitable is a little bit of an understatement." Shay said in wary amusement as she thought about her child hood friend. Naruto gave her a quick look and snickered. He'd just bet.

"What kind of music do you listen too?" Shay asked curiously. Naruto glanced at her over his shoulder again as he heated up some olive oil in a medium sized pan to get it ready for the noodles and the vegetables.

"I'll listen to just about anything."

"Does anyone ever sit and listen to it with you?"

"No. I wouldn't usually dare to bring another person here." Naruto said gently as he turned around to face her. She frowned but didn't ask him to elaborate. Which was good since he'd just lie to her anyways. She picked up another vegetable and started cutting it up and for a long time they didn't start talking again.

(************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

"Naruto has a what?" The group of Jounin crammed into Anko's house of horrors yelled in shock.

"Naruto has a girlfriend." Kakashi said again, this time a little louder since several of the Jounin were having panic attacks. Genma, Kotetsu and Radiou all sat off to the side looking thoughtful while Anko fairly squealed with delight and clapped her hands excitedly.

Her little toy-er _Naru-chan _had a girlfriend now! Ekk! She was so excited that she ran over to the fridge in her kitchen and pulled out a bottle of wine that she had been saving and popped the cork and took a long drink right from the bottle.

"I think I need a drink too! Anko share dammit!" Ebisu called out half jokingly.

"Then get your own." Anko said cheerfully. Kakashi rolled his eyes at the lot of them.

He tells them potentially bad news and they act like a bunch of wine drinking morons. How had Naruto managed to stay alive up till now with these people running around watching him? Really, he wanted to know.

Tenzou and Sai stood against the wall across the room with blank expressions on their faces. Why had Kakashi asked them to come to this bizarre place again? Sai looked at Kakashi and asked. "Why does Naruto having a girlfriend seem to be such news that you have to tell all of us?"

Kakashi looked at Sai. "Because this situation has the potential to be the one that _ends us _as a village." Kakashi said seriously. Sai cocked his head and looked puzzled for a moment.

"Because Naruto is the Kyubbi vessel?" Sai asked after a moment or two. Kakashi nodded his head.

"Yes. And because of what the villagers could and would do to the girl if they get their hands on her. The possibility that the villager who hate Naruto, getting their hands on her and hurting her or worse...is staggering. That's why Naruto has always kept himself away from the village women and girls. He didn't want any of them to get hurt or killed because of him."

"I see. But what does it mean that he's finally decided to change his mind about staying away from them?" Sai said.

"It means that he's finally reach a certain point where he's been so lonely that he simply may not care any more. Although...the fact that he took her home with him and is letting her stay there means that he's still painfully aware of the dangers and is trying to keep her safe in his own way. But that will be difficult for him to do because of the village laws that apply to him."

"Village laws?" Genma asked as he leaned forward in his seat. Which village laws was Kakashi talking about?

Surprisingly it was Anko that answered Genma.

"Law 1) The Kyubbi vessel is not allowed to raise his hand in violence to protect himself if he has a companion. If his companion is close by and the villagers attack him or her, he has no choice but to stand by and watch them harm her. If he tries to stop them by any means, it's grounds for immediate imprisonment and possibly execution. There is a loop hole however, stating that if he can send his companion away from him before an attack, he can defend himself. But unless he leaves his companion in the care of someone that he can trust to protect her while he's gone, the villagers can pull a fast one and hurt her while he's busy fighting one group."

Genma whistled and sat back in his seat against the wall.

"Law 2) The Kyubbi vessel is not allowed to become sexually active or the council reserved the right to turn him off of sex through torture. Apparently they didn't want him to sire any children anytime soon."

"But Naruto is a teenager, sex is more or less the only thing on his mind at this stage in life." Ebisu said with a dark expression on his face. Kakashi shook his head.

"Naruto isn't a normal person. Or at least he isn't as normal as he appears to be. He suppresses his desire for things to the point where he can function on a level above the rest of us. It doesn't stop him from longing, or wanting, or from feeling cheated and jealous of the rest of us. But he manages not to let any of those things show. He feels that he simply can't let those things show. That it would give the villagers the opening that they need to destroy him."

"But that's crazy! Why should Naruto be the only _one_ who has to live like this? He's a hero dammit!"

"Yes. But most people still see him as nothing more than an animal that needs to be put down. That's why I asked all of you here. Naruto has finally found something that he wants to keep for himself, something that means more to him than laws and rules. And as his comrades, we should help him protect that _something _precious. And give him the happiness that he's been denied for so long." Kakashi said.

Gai jumped up to his feet and yelled, "YOSH! We will be the protectors of Naruto's happiness!"

The person next to Gai hissed and clapped his hands to his ears and hissed at the man. "Inside voice! Inside voice!"

(*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Dinner had been quiet and cozy.

Just the way Naruto liked it.

And now that the dishes had been cleared, they were both getting ready to play poker. Naruto pulled a deck of cards from his secret hiding place, a hidden vault behind one of the shelves in his spare room and moved the shelf back into place and walked back out of the room and closed the door and pulled the cards from their box and started to shuffle them as he walked back into the living room and sat down at the small coffee table in his living room where Shay was sitting and started to deal the cards.

"Okay. This is a game that I call truth or dare poker. If you lose a hand you have the choice of answering a truth or dare question. If I lose you can ask me a truth or dare question. Sound good?" Naruto asked as he finished dealing and started to pick up his cards when Shay ask.

"Are there any wild cards?"

"No."

"Okay." Shay said as she picked up her cards and started to go through them as Naruto bit his bottom lip to keep from letting his amusement show. Shay wasn't aware of it, but then not many people ever played cards with him, but he was a card sharp of the highest caliber and had just set Shay's cards up so that she would lose. It was simply easier to get the ball rolling this way.

He shuffled his hand and pretended not to notice the frown that appeared on Shay's face as she discarded three cards and picked up three new ones from the deck as he discarded two and picked up two more. "Okay. Dealer calls." He said as he set his cards down. He had a pair of sixes. Shay smiled at him and set her cards down and his eyes nearly popped out of his head as his jaw went slack. _What the hell?_

Shay had three kings. "Truth or dare?" She said cheerfully as he stared at her cards in shock and wondered how _that_ had happened.

"Huh? Oh...um, truth." Naruto said stupidly.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" Shay asked curiously, she had noticed that Naruto was a very affectionate person, yet he held himself apart from everyone that he had run into earlier which is what had made her curious enough to ask.

"No. Never really wanted one." Naruto said awkwardly as he gathered the cards up and started shuffling them again.

"Why?"

He looked at her and scowled for a second. "That's two questions, Shay. You only get _one_ per hand." He said gently.

"Oh. Sorry."

"S'okay." Naruto said as he dealt her another hand and picked up his own and shuffled them around a bit. He had two nines and a jack. It wasn't much to work with but it was something. He discarded two cards from his hand and pulled two more. Crap. He had a whole lot of nothing.

He watched Shay discard one card and felt the urge to growl at her.

_Crap._ She was going to get him again. He could feel it in his bones. "Okay. I call." Naruto said as he laid his cards down.

Shay got an amused look on her face and he got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was not going to end well for him, he could tell by the look on her face as she laid down her cards. She had a strait royal flush.

Naruto groaned and banged his head on the table. What the hell was going on here? He had stacked the deck against her, so how was it that she was kicking his- He lifted his head and looked at her from narrowed eyes. "Your cheating." He said very calmly as he stared at her. Shay gave him an innocent look and smiled.

"Am I? Can you prove it?"

"No."

"Well then what makes you think that I'm cheating? Weren't you the one who stacked the deck against me?" He opened his mouth to deny what she had just said then realised what she was doing and abruptly shut his mouth and thinned his lips.

Damn. It figured that this sweet girl was another card sharp like him. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Why have you never really wanted a girlfriend?"

"Does it really matter why?"

"Not really. But I can't help but be curious. I mean you are a guy. In your teens. And you live alone from what I can see. Most guys would have turned this place into party central. I'm just trying to figure out what kind of guy you are."

"I'm not the love em and leave em type, Shay." Naruto said honestly. Shay studied him for a second as if trying to determine what he meant then nodded her head and picked up the cards and shuffled them. Naruto watched her hands, he couldn't seem to help himself, she had such small, but elegant looking hands. Very graceful, and nimble hands. She finished shuffling the deck and started dealing. Five to him and five to her.

"Aces, duces and suicide kings are wild."

Naruto's azure eyes practically sparkled when he realised what she was doing. She was trying to give him a better chance to beat her at cards. _How thoughtful of her. _He thought as he checked his cards and discarded two. "Naruto...is this game your way of trying to get more information on me?" Shay asked as she discarded three. Naruto looked at her and not for the first time cursed her for being so quick to catch on to him.

"Yeah." He said after a second or so. Shay sighed and set her cards down and leaned back until she was against the couch.

"What is it that you want to know?"

"Everything. Medical conditions, personality disorders, criminal records and what may be on them, past injuries, jobs, education exct." Naruto said as he set his cards down and propped himself up on hsi coffee table and waited for her to respond.

"No medical conditions. No personality disorders. No criminal records, I've never stepped out of line in any way that might cause trouble with the law." Shay said after a second or so. Naruto smiled. He had already known that she wouldn't have a criminal record. She was just too nice.

"I had a few different jobs... I have some past injuries but-" Shay stopped speaking and picked up her cards and started to figit with them. She didn't want to talk about what had happened to her after the attack, hell she didn't even want to talk about the attack period.

Naruto could sense her hesitation and sighed. He guessed that he would be the first one to open up.

"When I was seven, I was walking home from school like I always did-" Shay looked at him. A guarded expression on her pretty face. "I was grabbed by a group of drunks and dragged into an old abandoned building. There I was beaten and told that if I was a good boy and did whatever they said that they would let me go."

Shay paled a little and he laid his head on the table and stared blankly ahead as he recalled that incident as well as the other incidents that followed. "They forced me to suck them off. All of them. All six of them took turns using me, one after the other, over and over until they decided that they were done. I remember going home crying, and getting sick, trying to get every little bit of cum that they had forced me to swallow out of my body. And after a month or so I started to get over it when the same men grabbed me again while I was out grocery shopping. And they had some new friends with them. Again I was forced to do the same things, to all of the men present and I was allowed to go home. And after another month passed they grabbed me again, only this time they decided that it would be more interesting to make me cum too."

Shay had a horrified expression on her face as he continued to speak.

"They stripped me, and touched me, and I remember feeling sick as they told me what a pretty little whore I was. I cried and begged them to let me go, even as my body started to respond, and I remember puking on one of them, I was just so sickened by the whole thing, and so utterly disgusted by myself and my body. The guy hit me a few times then grabbed my hand and made me touch myself. I cried harder. And everything just seemed to freeze when I came. I felt so dirty and betrayed by my own body that my mind shut down."

"They made me masturbate while I sucked them off and just when I thought that it couldn't get any worse-Jiji, he was the old man that ran the village when I was a kid. I guess that you could call him our king. He found out what they had been doing to me because I was supposed to have gone to his office as soon as I was done shopping and I was late, so he came looking for me and found us all. I don't remember much of what happened once he found us. But I remember begging him to kill me, because I wasn't sure that I could get past it this time."

"But you did get past it. Didn't you?" Shay asked in a shaky tone. Naruto snorted and wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Well yes. I suppose. I reached the point where I got pissed and decided that no one would ever touch me like that again, and the old man helped by teaching me..." He paused for a second. Not really wanting to tell her that Sarutobi-jiji had trained him to kill a person instantly if they touched him in the same way as his abusers. "He taught me how to take care of myself and how to spot people like those men and how to avoid them." He had also taught him how to rip their insides out with his bare hands, but he doubted that Shay wanted to know that since she thought of him as a 'nice guy' and he wanted to uphold her mental image of him for as long as he could.

Shay said nothing for the longest time and Naruto didn't mind, all it meant was that she wasn't ready to talk about her attack just yet. "Do you know that I was-" Shay started to say then stopped and thinned her lips together as Naruto nodded his head curtly.

"Yeah. I know-" Thanks to Neji.

"And I want you to know that I understand how _hard_ it is to get over, and to establish intimate relationships, and how _sometimes_ you can be out with someone that you feel safe with and _still_ fall apart when they touch you. And how hard it is to trust others after such a thing happens, because you see the warning signs everywhere. In every face and every smile, even in the most unlikely places and people. And I want you to know that _I'm_ here, if you _need_ to talk, or _fall_ apart. I won't _hold_ it against you, _blame_ you or _judge_ you. Because I _know _how much it hurts...to be used like that. And to scream for someone, anyone to help you, and have no one come." Naruto said as he looked at her.

Shay didn't say anything, she just nodded her head mutely. Naruto was quiet as he got up and moved around the coffee table and sat down on the floor next to her and grasped her hand and squeezed it.

And for the first time in a long time Shay honestly believed she could genuinely feel safe with someone again. It was such an overwhelming feeling that she didn't know what to do or say to him. So she just squeezed his hand back and leaned against his shoulder.

They sat like that for an hour or so, neither one of them speaking. They just sat there holding hands and drawing on the other for emotional support and Naruto finally acknowledged that he just might be falling for Shay. Maybe. Finally Naruto let go of her hand and shifted. "It's getting late and I have work in the morning. Go take a shower. I can wait until your done." Shay sat up strait and rubbed her eyes, she felt like she was about to doze off.

"But what if I take all of the hot water?" Naruto snickered at her question. Even if she did take all of the warm water he could just use his chakra to warm up the cold water, so he wasn't worried.

"Don't worry about that. I'm used to cold showers." He said as he stood up and offered his hand to help her up, she smiled at him and took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. She thanked him and started to walk by him when she stopped and turned around and reached up and hooked her hand around his nape and pulled him down until they were face to face, suprising him, and pressed her houth against his cheek then let him go and walked off.

Leaving him standing there with his hand pressed against his cheek, blushing like mad. _Jesus._ He felt like she had just knocked the air from his lungs, and his heart was thudding madly against his ribs. This sensation was just like earlier when she had kissed him. And in the back of his mind he heard Kyubbi snicker and repeat his earlier words.

**_See kit. Love heals all things. _**


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning Naruto accidentally woke Shay up when he tripped in his effort to pull on one of his shoes. He was already going to be twenty minutes late for training and to top his morning off, he peeked out his living room window and found some villagers watching his place and knew that he couldn't leave Shay alone while he went to train with team seven. Shay wandered into the room wearing an knee length violet purple silk night shirt and rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Naruto? What are you doing?"

He backed away from the window before the villagers could spot him and gave her a quick look. "Getting ready for work. Go get dressed Shay." He said gently as he grabbed his weapon's pouch and buckled the belt around his hips. Shay frowned and looked around the living room with a puzzled look on her face, despite her still being sleepy she could sense Naruto's anxiousness and wondered what would cause him to be so anxious so early in the morning.

"Why?" She finally asked as he wound something that looked like bandages around his upper right leg and picked up a little brown pouch and buckled it into place. He looked like he was getting ready to go hunting or something.

"Because I'm taking you to work with me."

She frowned and cocked her head to the side. Wouldn't she just be in the way if she went with him? She wondered and before she could ask he grabbed his jacket and walked over to her and said very softly. "Do you remember the reason why I sent you away yesterday?" She nodded her head, still just a little bit puzzled.

"Well there are some bad people outside waiting for me to leave you alone-" He didn't have to say any more than that before Shay's eyes went wide and her face drained of color and she turned and ran down the hall to his room and slammed the door closed. Naruto gave a dry laugh, god he loved it when something clicked in her mind. He never had to say much for her to get the point. He gave her ten minutes plus an extra five just in case she needed to use the bathroom and brush her teeth and was a little startled when she ran back out of his bedroom in less than five minutes completely dressed, her teeth and hair brushed and only lacking her shoes.

He let out a low whistle, more than a little impressed. Sakura took forever to get dressed and such, and that was even _with_a time limit. "You've done things like this before huh?" He asked in mild amusement as he grabbed a clean, new looking jacket from the closet next to the front door. Shay shrugged and slipped her new shoes on.

"What now?" She asked as he shrugged on the jacket. He looked at her and pulled out a folded fluffy folded blanket from the closet before closing it.

"Do you trust me?" Naruto asked, he needed to know if she at least trusted him enough to know that he wasn't going to let her get hurt. And not to elbow him in the ribs or something when they took the back door out of his apartment, which was about a good thirty to forty foot drop to the ground.

And that was only after he checked to make sure that no one was watching his back door for them.

Shay considered his words and nodded her head, of course she trusted him. He'd done nothing to earn her mistrust, hadn't threatened or hurt her in any way. "Yes."

He gave her a tight lipped smile and handed her the blanket. "Good. Wait here. Don't ask any questions. And when I blind fold you just hold on to me and don't let go. Understand?" Again she nodded and he walked past her and into the other room at the back of his apartment and opened the door and stepped inside and blinked at the dust floating in the air. He waved his hand in front of his face and walked through the room, idly scanning the papers and scrolls littering the floor.

He'd really needed to clean this place up. He thought as he walked over to the back door and peeked out from between the blinds. No one was watching the back door, at least no one that he could see. Someone could have hidden themselves somewhere on one of the roofs of the other buildings, but Naruto doubted that they would be able to ambush them once they left, if they were.

Walking back through the apartment he tugged off his headband and stopped in front of Shay and slipped it over her eyes and tied it into place and picked her up bridal style as he created several shadow clones of them both and sent the clones out the front door, two windows, while he and Shay slipped out of the back.

Once he was a good enough distance away from his apartment and he was sure that they weren't being followed he stopped and set Shay on her feet and tugged his headband off of her. Shay looked up at him and blinked and he grinned. "What just happened?" She asked curiously, there for a second or two her stomach had lurched violently giving her the impression that they had been falling. But she hadn't really been able to tell since Naruto hadn't really give any indication that they had been falling.

He hadn't grunted, or shown any indication of hitting the ground, all she had really felt was his jacket rubbing up against her and that was it. "Magic." Naruto said after a second or so as he grasped her hand and started to lead her down the street. Weaving them in and out of dark alleys, behind buildings, avoiding places with a lot of people and after a while Shay started to get the impression that he did things like this every day.

Naruto had them almost to the training ground when two familiar figures dropped down from a roof a few feet in front of them and he slowed his pace to a stop. "Captain Yamoto! Sai!"

"Good morning Naruto." Sai greeted with a friendly smile. Yamoto grinned at the blond.

"Hey." Yamoto said as he raised his hand in greeting and waved at Naruto as his eyes shifted to the girl half hidden behind the blond Jinchirikii. So this girl was Naruto's girlfriend. She was a pretty little thing with pretty dark green eyes and long curly black hair that slipped over her slender shoulders as she peeked around Naruto and looked at them curiously as Naruto asked them what they were doing so far from the training grounds.

Yamoto smiled at the boy. "We thought we'd see if we should walk you to the training grounds since we missed you there not once but twice now." Naruto scowled at him, all the tension draining away along with his worry. Yamoto was a sucky liar. Naruto mused as he pulled Shay out from behind him, and noticed the way that both shinobi looked at her curiously and decided that he should introduce them.

"Captian Yamoto. Sai. This is Shayera Michales. She goes by Shay."

"Hello beautiful." Sai said as he tried to think up a good nickname for her.

"Hello. Nice to meet you." Yamoto said politely as he reached out to shake her hand. She gave him a nervous smile and muttered a polite 'nice to meet you too' and shook his hand. She had a surprisingly strong grip for such a fragile looking girl.

"You have a very pretty name. Does it have a special meaning?" Yamoto asked as they started walking, noting the way that Naruto stayed close to her. Shay blushed and shook her head no.

"My real name was Shiloh up until several years ago. I merely took the name Shayera because it was my great, great, great grandmother's name." And because she had gotten tired of her attacker tracking her down and calling her and sending her letters, telling her every sick thing he was going to do to her once he was free. Again, if there was _any_ justice in the world he'd be gang raped and die from AIDS or something.

"Oh. Most people change their names to reinvent themselves, or to make themselves harder to find because their running from something-" He looked at her and smiled then asked. "Are you running from something?" Shay looked as if she had been struck and Naruto gave him a not so playful shove and hissed at him.

"Stop. That. Now." Yamoto looked at Naruto and cocked his head slightly as the teen put his arm around the girl's shoulders and pulled her up against his side and scanned the crowd ahead. So far he saw ten nins that he knew held a very strong dislike of him. All of them were watching him, and some were eyeing Shay like she was a steak. He ignored them and tried to squash the sudden bout of panic that rose up in his chest and might have given in to his feelings of fear and panic if Shay hadn't grasped his hand and laced her fingers together with his, causing him to turn his head to look at her.

She tipped her head back to look at him and smiled and he felt himself smiling back even as she tripped over a rock and fell face first in the dirt in front of him. Both Yamoto and Sai stopped walking and looked back at them as Naruto busted out laughing as he grabbed Shay's arm and pulled her to her feet. Shay growled at him and snapped something along the lines of 'don't judge me' and dusted herself off as Naruto continued to laugh while holding his sides and Yamoto and Sai exchanged a look and smiled.

It was good to see Naruto laughing again, it had been months since he had last laughed about anything. So anything that could make him laugh like this was definately welcome.

Kakashi was talking with Sakura when Naruto and the others finally reached the training ground. They looked up as Sai walked over to them. "Hello _friends." _He said cheerfully. Sakura smiled at him and waved to Yamoto and then looked for Naruto and spotted him standing across the training grounds with his back turned to her.

"Naruto! Hey!" She called out and waved. Naruto turned his head and smiled at her then turned back away from her and she frowned. What was he doing? She wondered as she started to take a step forward when Kakashi stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Leave him alone for now. He's busy." Kakashi said as he watched Naruto spread a blanket out on the grass so that the girl with him could sit down and watch them train.

"But what could he be busy with?" Sakura asked stupidly. She didn't know what was going on with her teammate but she was starting to get worried. Kakashi didn't say anything, he was too busy watching Naruto talk to the girl for a second before he leaned in and seemed to be kissing her before he straitened hsi spine and turned and ran over to them finally giving Kakashi a good view of the girl.

My. My. She was a pretty little thing with her pale skin, glossy curly black hair and her dark green eyes. _Well, Naruto is partually sticking to his type._Kakashi thought as the girl sat down and drew her knees to her chest and rested her chin on her knees and cocked her head as Kakashi paired the kids off with each other and himself with Yamoto. "Okay guys, it's three against two. Show us older generation what you can do!"

(**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Shay watched the group pair off, the kids against the adults and couldn't help but feel that there was some stuff that Naruto hadn't told her about himself as she saw him charge the man with the silver hair and gasped in shock and horror as the man grabbed the front of Naruto's jacket and flung him into the air like a rag doll. Shay tracked Naruto's flight through the air, and nearly fainted from shock when he twisted himself around in mid air and let his feet connect with a tree trunk, it only lasted for a second, but to Shay that second was long enough for Naruto to bend his legs, to keep them from breaking from the impact and launch himself at the man again.

The silver haired man said something as Naruto threw a punch at the man and had his wrist grabbed as the man lifted his leg to kick the teen, Naruto lifted his leg and countered the kick with his own. His knee connecting with Kakashi's as they grappled with each other for a second before leaping apart.

The group continued like this for what seemed like forever to Shay and after a while Shay got tired of watching and decided to explore the woods away from the group a little ways. She stood up and started walking, weaving her way in and out of the wooded area, trying to keep Naruto and the others in sight as she went and finally after a while she couldn't see them anymore and started to turn back when she heard a twig snap and turned around to see where the noise was coming from.

Silently berating herself for doing something so stupid as exploring in the woods when she had no idea what sort of dangerous wild animals were running around wild and free and hungry. She'd bet Naruto would be _pissed_ if he found her mangled half eaten body under a bears paw or something.

There was nothing behind her. No hungry bears, no mountain lions, no panthers, or snakes. Nothing dangerous. Nothing that could hurt or kill her. Nothing that she could see anyways. But there was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, and warning bells blaring in her head, screaming out that there was something there. Hidden where she couldn't see it. Watching her. _Please don't let it be a bear. Please don't let it be a bear._

Shay repeated in her head over and over again as she started walking, slowly back the way that she had come, hoping that whatever was there wouldn't jump out at her. She got ten feet before she heard a set of heavy foot falls behind her. She stopped and felt a sliver of fear make its way down her spine and shivered as the foot steps stopped. They sounded like they were just a few feet behind her.

She turned her head slightly and peeked over her shoulder at the same exact second a large dark haired man ran at her. She screamed and started to run but he was too fast and had her around the waist and threw her to the ground with bone jarring force. "Well, _well_ look what I've found." She looked at him and tried to scramble away but he grabbed her and jerked her back towards him and she had to bite back a whimper when he pressed his face against her neck and breathed deep.

"Mmm, you smell nice girl. Too good for the likes of him-"

(*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Naruto dodged a blow to the face and flipped himself back several feet and froze. His heart thudding madly in his chest, his lungs suddenly seemed incapable of breathing the air and a strange feeling of overwhelming fear rose up and caused everything to go black for a second. What was going on? What was wrong with him? He wondered as Kyubbi stirred in his mind.

**_Kit! Where is your mate? _**

_Huh? _Shay was over by the trees sitting. Watching them train. Wasn't she?

**_No. She isn't. She is gone. _**

_"What?" _Naruto all but yelled as his vision cleared and he turned his head to look towards the trees and saw that she was gone.

Oh shit...


	18. Chapter 18

Shay was gone. Where? Where did she go? Naruto wondered as he ran away from the others, his senses kicking into overdrive as he ran over to the deserted blanket and yelled her name. Hoping that she would call back and let him know that his fears were unfounded, but he knew that the chances of _that_ happening were very slim since there was any number of things that could have happened to her.

Someone could have snuck up on her while she was taking a nap and dragged her away to do god knows what, and unless he found her-

He started to hyperventilate as Kyubbi called out to him. **_Calm down kit. She's alive and unhurt. I can't smell her blood anywhere_**.

_So she's fine? _Naruto thought hopefully.

**_I never said that. I merely said that she was alive and unhurt. _**The words 'for now' slithered through his mind and set his teeth on edge as the others came running up curious to see what was wrong. "Naruto, what's wrong?" Kakashi asked as he came up behind the teen. Naruto stood there staring blankly ahead trying to calm himself down so that he could think when he heard a scream coming form somewhere in the depths of the woods and felt his heart stop for a second before he started running again.

His mind zeroing in on the sound and automatically gauging the distance that it had come from. Half a mile. She was just a lousy half a mile. He thought as he ran through the woods, weaving his way in and out from between the trees, Kakashi and the others following closely behind.

(************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Shay had never been so scared in her life as she was now. although the other time she had been attacked stood out in her mind, for now the only thing that she knew was the sadistically smiling man sitting on top of her. She opened her mouth to scream and just barely got any sound out before he hit her hard across the face with his palm. The sickening crack of flesh against flesh followed by the searing pain in her cheek cutting off her scream abruptly.

"Shut up bitch. I'm not going to touch you. I just want to have a little chat." The man growled at her as he leaned over her. She blinked back tears as he grabbed a hand full of her hair and yanked her head back painfully. She cried out and he slapped her again and snarled.

"I told you to shut up... Now I'm a curious sort of guy, and I usually wouldn't raise my hand to a lady but I don't really think your a lady because you let that _thing_ touch you. So all I want to know is...what is it about him that you like? Is it that damned dark passion you can sense under his skin? Do you enjoy letting that thing plow you like a cheap whore? Is it because_ human_ men just don't do it it for you? _Tell me!" _He snarled at her.

Shay blinked back tears and stared at him. She didn't understand. What was he saying? What did he want to hear? What could she say to get him to _go away_? "I-I don't k-know w-what-" He hit her again, once, twice, three times and she put her hands up and tried to stop him. But it was no good, he kept pushing her hands aside and slapping her until dark spots danced in her eyes and she knew that she was about to lose consciousness.

She could taste blood in her mouth and her cheek was numb. She put her hands out to stop him as he raised his hand again tears slipped down her face as she opened her mouth and rasped. "Stop. Please..." He hit her again and her head snapped to the side so violently that it felt as if her neck had just been broken and she knew no more.

(************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Naruto heard Shay crying before he saw her. His mind went blank and he drove himself forward faster, praying that she wasn't hurt too badly as Kyubbi told him that he smelled blood and his blood lust rose, pulsing through his blood as he broke through the dense under brush and stopped for a second to acxess the situation.

There was a large man sitting on top of Shay, his hand raised, and Naruto could hear Shay begging him to stop. _Begging. _He let out a low feral sound and walked forward quietly and grabbed the man be the back of the shirt and jerked him up off of Shay as she fainted and threw the offender across the small clearing where he hit a tree trunk, side first and crashed to the ground. Naruto stared at the man through scarlet eyes and pointed and growled.

"_Bad dog_." Before turning back to Shay and kneeling down and lightly touching her bruised cheek then wiped the blood away from her mouth as the others ran into the clearing and stopped.

"Sakura, help her." Kakashi said as he pushed Sakura gently towards Naruto and the girl laying so still on the ground. Sakura looked confused for a second then went over to Naruto and dropped down to her knees beside the girl and started to heal her wounds as Kakashi, Yamoto and Sai secured the man that Naruto had knocked nearly sensless to the tree behind him.

"How badly is she hurt?" Naruto asked as he gave the man a cold apathetic look. If he had hurt Shay _badly_ he would _kill_ him. As it was now, he was just going to skin the sick fucker alive and amputate his arm the good old fashioned way. He was going to _rip_ it off at the shoulder.

"She's just a little bruised. Nothing to worry about. She hasn't got any cuncussions or any lasting damage." Sakura said as she finished healing the strange girl and looked at Naruto. Wondering why Naruto had such a strange look on his face when he looked at the girl. Naruto's eyes slowly turned back to azure blue and he nodded his head and turned to look at the who had seemed to regain his senses and was suddenly straining against the ropes binding him, growling like an animal.

Naruto walked up to the man and planted his foot on the man's chest and slammed him back against the tree and held him in place as he pulled out a kunai. "Now, why did you hurt-"

"Snow." Sai said all of a sudden and Naruto frowned and looked over at the dark haired teen and wondered what the hell Sai was talking about. Sai just smiled happily and pointed to Shay.

"Snow. It's a nice nickname for such a pretty girl with pale skin." Naruto snorted and turned back to the man and smiled at him.

"So why did you hurt...Snow? Mind you that if I don't like you're answer, I'll _bury _you in this clearing." Naruto said as he placed the tip of his kunai against the man's neck, drawing a thin scarlet drop from his skin.


	19. Chapter 19

"So why did you hurt...Snow? Mind you that if I don't like you're answer, I'll _bury _you in this clearing." Naruto said as he placed the tip of his kunai against the man's neck, drawing a thin scarlet drop from his skin.

The man started to open his mouth to speak when Shay made a sound indicating that she was waking up and Naruto quickly elbowed the man in the mouth, there was an audible sickening crack and the man's eyes widened a second before Kakashi pinched a nerve in the back of his neck silencing the scream of pain that had been about to work itself out of the man's throat as Naruto put his kunai away and moved back to the Shay's side all in the blink of an eye and dropped down to his knees beside her.

Shay moaned again and stirred a bit. Her eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes a little bit and Naruto leaned over her and gave her a dazzling smile. "Hey beautiful." Nauto said in a husky sounding voice. Shay looked at him then looked around, her body felt sore, and she could feel herself shaking a little bit. She wanted to ask what had happened since all she recalled was a big guy calling her names and smacking her, but everything seemed fuzzy.

Almost as if she had been watching a movie or dreaming. "N-Naruto? What are you doing here?" She asked as Naruto reached out and slipped an arm under her shoulders and lifted her up a little bit and dragged her into his lap and hugged her. He ran his hands through her hair, trying to comb out the leaves and twigs that had gotten tangled there and then ran his hands along her spine, pressing her against his body a little more tightly than felt comfortable to her, but she allowed it because she couldn't stop shaking.

"Where else would I be you silly girl?" Naruto rasped in a shaky tone that no one else could hear as he buried his face in her hair to hide the fact that he was dangerously close to tears. He hadn't expected one of the village shinobi to come to training ground seven and try something. Not with him, Sakura, Sai, Kakashi and Yamoto there. But obviously he would have to rethink bringing Shay with him to work from now on.

"Naruto. You're friends are staring at us in a strange way..." Shay said tiredly as she noticed the two men from earlier plus the other two. The silver haired man and the strange pink haired girl. Naruto lifted his head slightly and smiled.

"Are they? It's because they don't see me hug someone often-" Naruto said as he loosened his grip on her little bit and slipped his other arm under her knees and stood up, taking her with him. "Hold on to me Shay." Naruto said as soon as he was standing, she looked at him curiously and slipped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder to hide her face.

(***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

_Well they were a pretty pair, weren't they?_ Kakashi mused as Naruto walked by him carrying the girl bridal style in his arms.

The fragile girl being protected by the demon containing boy.

Kyubbi must have been having a field day with this. Kakashi knew that Anko and the others from the meeting last night were going to have a field day with this. And as for the man that had attacked the girl, well Naruto hadn't killed him. But then he hadn't needed too.

He had broken the guys jaw, and in a second Yamoto and Sai were going to take the misguided man to Ibiki, who would bury the man _for _Naruto. Sakura walked over to him and poked him in the side with her index finger to get his attention. He looked at her a curious expression on his masked face. "Yes Sakura."

"What's going on? Who's that girl? Why is she with Naruto?"

Kakashi looked at her strangely a small smile curving his lips under his mask. Sakura sounded like a jealous ex-girlfriend. "She's Naruto's..." He wasn't exactly sure how to answer the question since he hadn't been able to smell any signs of sex on the girl or Naruto, so obviously Naruto wasn't fucking her. So maybe the teen was keeping her with him to have someone to curl up on the couch with or to talk too? Still _that_ little fact was no ones business so he didn't bother saying anything about it to Sakura or the others as he started walking. Completely forgetting that he hadn't answered Sakura's question.

Sakura glared at his back, waiting for him to answer her before huffing and growling something along the lines of 'damn Naruto and his little hussy' before brushing past him and stomping off. Well, that was unexpected. Kakashi thought as he watched Sakura disappear into the sea of trees. _Well_, looks like his thoughts on the jealous ex-girlfriend had been right on the money. But if Sakura had liked Naruto, she should have said something before this.

Really it wasn't Naruto's fault.

He had tried to get her to date him. He _had tried_ for years, though there was no telling if he had been serious or not. They made it back to the training ground just as Naruto was wrapping the girl in the blanket that he had brought with him and looked up at Kakashi as he emerged from the tree's and glanced down at the girl. She looked as if she had fallen asleep while Naruto had been carrying. Maybe because she was still in shock or because the attack had drained her of all of her energy.

Whatever the reason, Naruto wrapped the blanket around her and picked her back up. "I think I'm going to call it a day." He said as he stood up and shifted the girl in his arms to get a better grip on her. Kakashi nodded his head in understanding. He supposed that Naruto wanted some time alone, to himself.

"I'll drop by later and check on the two of you. Do you want me to bring something for the two of you to eat?"

"If you do you have to stay for dinner." Naruto said soberly. Kakashi nodded again and smiled at his emotionally fragile ex student. That sounded like it might be nice. He hadn't eaten dinner with Naruto since team seven had had their prank war. And that hadn't been so much eating dinner with the blond as it had been wearing it.

And now that Naruto had a girl to worry about it might be nice to get to know her too since he'd be seeing a lot more of her from now on. "Alright. It's a deal."

"See you then Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said as he vanished in a swirl of leaves.


	20. Chapter 20

Naruto laid Shay on his bed after unwrapping her and pulled her shoes off then grabbed the sheets and pulled them up over her shoulder and left the room and quietly closed the door behind him before he sank to the floor and broke down crying. Oh god that had been close. That had been so uncomfortably close that he felt sick to his stomach with grief. God if Kyubbi hadn't snapped at him and told him that she was missing-

His stomach lurched as bile rose in his throat. He clapped his hands over his mouth and jumped to his feet and took off running to the bathroom and almost didn't make it before he started to dry heave. ****

**_Kit...are you okay? _**Kyubbi asked as he stirred in the back of Naruto's mind. It wasn't like his kit to get so sick over such a thing. Usually he just shut down and stopped functioning for a while. Stayed at home, stared at the walls. Refusing to speak. Refusing to move unless it was to go to the bathroom for any reason.

He just stopped everything.

But he wasn't stopping now. Certain events had been thrown into motion the day that he had brought the female home and now there was no stopping.

No going back.

The kit had a long and twisted and difficult road ahead of him, but Kyubbi wasn't a demon for just _any_ reason. He had power beyond _all _human comprehension and he was aware of what was the come. Every little thing would lead up to what his kit needed the most.

A family. Peace. Happiness.

And Kyubbi was _determined_ to see that his kit reached the end, and _those_ things that he needed, _with_ his predestined mate by his side. There was just one catch. His kit had lucked out and had _two _predestined mates. One lived in the village and worked with him and then there was the female. Now if only he could get his kit to pay better attention to his mates... Kyubbi sighed and waited for Naruto to finish dry heaving so that he could answer him.

It took ten minutes but finally Naruto didn't have anything left to throw up and sat back and flushed the toilet and leaned back against his bath tub.

"I'm fine Kyu..." Naruto rasped, his throat feeling raw from the stomach acid that had burned it's way up his esophagus. He leaned his head back against the thick glass of his tub and closed his eyes and tried to swallow a few times in an effort to relieve the burning in his throat.

It didn't work but at least he had tried, right?

**_Don't beat yourself up kit. You got lucky considering how bad things could have been._**

_True._Naruto thought. But that didn't make it hurt any less.

Because of him, Shay was being singled out. Because of him she had been hurt. Because of him she might one day be-_killed_.

His heart ached painfully in his chest and he pulled his legs up until his knees were against his chest and just sat there trying not to get sick again. After a while he felt good enough to get up brushed his teeth and left the bathroom to go get a drink and settled himself outside of his bedroom door, feeling deathly afraid that if he didn't Shay might get hurt again.

He sat there for a good thirty minutes before he heard his mattress creak and stiffened slightly where he sat and strained to hear what Shay was doing. Was she restless? Was she having a nightmare? Did she need him? His anxiety spiked until she opened the door and looked at him. "Naruto?"

He got up and waited for her to say something, to tell him what she needed but instead she just reached out and took his hand and pulled him into the room. He frowned. "Shay?"

"You don't look so good." He blinked at her as she led him over to the bed and pushed him down on it and reached for his jacket, intending to take it off of him. He looked like he was running a fever or something, and wearing a jacket when you had a fever, while warm, was never really comfortable. He grasped her wrists and squeezed them slightly, almost threateningly.

"What are you doing Shay?"

"Taking your jacket off."

"Why?"

"Because I want you to lay down for a while."

He shifted his hold from her wrists to her hips and looked up at her. "Do you have any idea what your asking for?"

She blinked at him and frowned. Asking for? What was he talking about?

She wasn't asking for anything but for him to let her take care of him since he had been taking care of her. That was it. Nothing more. She didn't really expect anything more. She unzipped his jacket and slipped her hand inside to push the navy blue and orange fabric off of his shoulders. He looked down at her hands and looked back at her face and felt something in him-

All of his carefully restrained desires.

All of his tightly leashed control.

Snapped into pieces as if it had been nothing more than a frayed thread and before he could stop himself he reached out and hooked his hand around her nape, and pulled her off balance so that she fell against him and wrapped his arms around her and toppled them onto his bed so that she was pinned under him and pressed his lips against her's in a feather light kiss that sent a little shock through her system.

Her eyes widened a little bit in suprise as he leaned down a little more and applied a bit more force to her mouth with his own. His tongue snaking out to lick along her bottom lip as he tipped his head to the side and sealed his mouth over hers so that he could taste her better. She gasped and he seized the small opening to slip his tongue into her mouth and moaned in bliss.

Oh god she tasted so good. She tasted unlike anything he had ever had before. She was so damn sweet. He pulled back a bit and threaded his fingers through her soft silken hair and tipped her head back a little bit then gave her a toe curling kiss. He trailed his lips along the corner of her lips and nuzzled the under side of her jaw before nipping at the soft skin of her ear lobe. She gasped as he licked along her neck and put her hands against his chest.

He stilled and lifted his head to look at her. The feel of her hands on his chest was like a bucket of cold water to his system. He realised what he was doing and simply stopped, not wanting to cause any more damage than he already had and rolled off of her and waited for her to get pissed and punch him again. But she didn't say anything, didn't seem angry, she just sat up and looked at him, her face a fetching pink, her lips swollen from his kisses.

He sat up, feeling like a man on death row. She was going to reject him now. Get mad and tell him that he had been out of line. And he had been, so he couldn't blame her. But instead she just looked at him almost curiously and then looked down at her hands and blushed a little bit more. "You don't know me very well aside from what you already know... So the next time you want to kiss me. Ask for permission please."

Naruto blinked at her. Ask? _Ask?_ She wanted him to tell her when he wished to kiss her-if he wished to kiss her. She had to be the strangest girl he'd ever met.

But dammit, he was okay with that.

(***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Two hours later-

Naruto slipped from his bedroom as Shay stirred and woke up. He had laid down with her like she had asked but sleep had eluded him since he had still been feeling sort of..._hot _and bothered. He walked down the hall to the kitchen intending to get his table ready for the food that Kakashi was bringing since he expected the man to be there any second now. He was in the middle of setting the table when he heard a knock on his living room window and turned hsi head to see Kakashi standing at the window with some take out bags in one hand.

Kakashi wiggled his fingers at him and Naruto straitened his spine and walked over to the door and unlocked and opened it so that the man could come in. Kakashi brushed by him as Shay came out of the bedroom, her long curly hair tousled and standing on end and Naruto looked at her standing in the hallway and snorted in amusement. "Good grief, look at that mess."

Kakashi turned his head and looked at her, curious to see what Naruto was talking about and cocked his head to the side a little bit. Had he interrupted something? He wondered as he looked at Naruto as he pulled a brush out of a drawer in the table next to the door and tossed it to her. Shay snatched the brush from thin air and narrowed her eyes at him. "Trying to tell me something?"

"Yes. You need to brush your hair." Naruto said with a grin. Kakashi just stood there staring at the girl as she smiled at Naruto and disappeared back down the hallway to his room.

"Did I come at a bad time Naruto?" Kakashi finally asked as Naruto took the bag from him.

"Nah. You're right on time." Naruto said as he carried the bag over to the table and set it down and started to go through it.

"You're sure?" Kakashi asked, feeling that he needed to make sure that he hadn't just cock blocked his former student since the teen was strong enough now to kick his ass and then some. Naruto looked at him and smiled.

"I'm sure. We just got up from a nap, that's all. "

"Oh. Alright." Kakashi said, not really believing the blond as he walked over to the couch and sat down as Naruto went through the food to see what he had brought. Kakashi had brought a little bit of everything that he could carry in one big bag. Korean BBQ from the restaurant down the street from Ichiraku's Ramen. Some sushi, and other fishy dishes. Some sugar sprinkled donuts. Some soup. Jesus there was at least ten different things from ten different places.

What had Kakashi been trying to do? Naruto wondered as he looked up from the bag and at his former sensei. "Why are there so many dishes?"

"I wasn't sure what you and you're lady friend would be in the mood for."

"Oh." Naruto said as Shay came walking back into the room looking a little less wild. Naruto brightened and backed away from the food on the table, apparently wanting to pretend as if he hadn't been going through it like a little kid went through their presents on Christmas day.

Shay looked at Kakashi curiously then at Naruto. "Oh right, I need to introduce you two." Naruto said almost stupidly as he walked over to Kakashi and put his hand on his shoulder, earning a funny look from the man as Naruto spoke.

"This is Kakashi Hatake. He's a former teacher of mine and a _good _friend-" Naruto said with a grin and Kakashi smiled a little bit behind his mask as Naruto introduced him to the girl. "Kakashi-sensei, this is Shayera Michales." Kakashi waved at her. Shay smiled and waved back almost shyly.

"Hello." Well, she was friendly. Kakashi thought as he watched her walk over to the couch and stop right next to him.

"Do you mind if I sit down here?" She asked him curiously. Kakashi cocked his head at her question. It was such an odd thing to ask. Especially since this wasn't his home. He couldn't ask her not to sit next to him if she really wanted too.

"Please." He said politely as he patted the cushion next to him. She studied him for a second then looked at Naruto and chewed her bottom lip nervously. This strange man didn't really seem like he wanted her to sit next to him, he was just being polite to her.

"Um. M-Maybe I should sit someplace else."

"Oh. Did you change you're mind then?" Kakashi asked curiously. She looked a little nervous to him. What was going through her mind? He wondered as she chewed on her bottom lip a little more.

"Well...yeah, I guess so. Sorry." Shay mumbled as she walked away from him and pulled out a chair from the table and sat down. Naruto looked at her then at him, a strange expression on his face. Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, as if to say 'I didn't do or say anything to make her change her mind'. Naruto rolled his eyes and shook his head, did Kakashi think he was stupid or something?

Even _he_had detected the ice in his polite tone when he had spoken to Shay. And Shay had obviously picked up on it too or she wouldn't have decided to sit someplace else. In an effort to defuse the situation a little bit Naruto cleared his throat and said cheerfully. "Okay! Who's hungry?"

Kakashi lifted his hand a little bit, indicating that he was hungry. And Shay just nodded her head a little bit. Naruto sighed.

_Wow_ but the dinner conversation was going to be awesome, wasn't it?


	21. Chapter 21

Naruto and Kakashi sat across from Shay at the table. Their plates piled high with food. Waiting for Shay to pick up her fork and take a bite since they were both a bit curious to see if she would like the food. Shay started to pick up her fork, but stopped and put her hand back down in her lap when she caught them staring at her. "What?" She asked, a frown on her face.

"Nothing. We're just waiting to see if you like the food." Naruto said with a smile. She blinked at them then cocked her head. Obviously wondering why they were waiting on her when they could just pick up their forks and start eating.

"Why?"

"Because it's occurred to _us_ that _we _aren't sure what kind of foods you like so we need to know what sort of things you'll eat." Naruto said, including himself in his explanation because other than what they had eaten the night before he had no idea what she liked. So now was as good a time as any to learn. Especially since he had kissed her. He now knew that he intended to keep her for as long as he could and when it was time to say goodbye...

Well, until then he preferred not to _think _about it much since he hated goodbyes. "Oh okay then." Shay said as she picked up her fork and took a bite of the ribs, and several other of the things on her plate and licked her lips. Wow, the food was amazing. Shay thought as she took another bit of her food. Naruto exchanged a relieved look with Kakashi as they both picked up their forks and started to eat too.

Kakashi-for once didn't bother hiding his face. He was in the company of Naruto and well, Shay didn't really know him so there was really no reason for him to hide his face from her. He was a little surprised when she looked up but didn't say anything aside from, "Mr. Hatake, where did you get this food? I think I'd like to visit the restaurant sometime."

Kakashi gnashed his teeth when she called him 'Mr. Hatake' being addressed in that way set his teeth on edge and made him feel much older than his twenty five years. "Please, just call me Kakashi." He said kindly, hoping that he wouldn't have to ask her again as he took a bite of his food and chewed before casting a glance at Naruto and noted that the teen was watching Shay with a thoughtful expression on his face.

What was going through his mind? Kakashi wondered as he finished off his food and sat back in his seat and waited for Naruto and Shay to finish eating. Naruto finished his food next and picked up his dishes and neatly piled them up and waited for Shay to finish. Once she was done she started to stand up and pick up her dishes when Naruto lightly smacked her hands away from the dishes and leaned over her shoulder and picked the dirty dishes up and walked off.

Kakashi observed the teens behavior and cocked his head, an bemused expression on his face.

It wasn't often that he got to see one of his former students trying to woo someone.

Especially when said former student was Naruto, since he tended to steer clear of females as if they were the bubonic plague. Which was part of the reason Kakashi was so curious about this girl. What was it about her that was so_ special _that Naruto coveted her as if she were a priceless treasure?

What kind of person was she? What was her personality type? What was it that Narto was so drawn too? It couldn't be the vulnerability that she had shown earlier when she was attacked.

Naruto hated simpering weak women. Yet he hadn't seem disgusted with her, or put out that she had been crying or anything like that. He had been anxious, worried, but most of all he had been _furious_. Furious that that man had hurt her. Furious that his existence had caused her pain.

He had been so furious that Kakashi had caught a small glimpse of the demon in him as he had smiled at the girl's attacker and _promised _to bury him. "So...Shayera. That's a strange name."

"It was my great, great, great grandmother's name."

"She must have been an interesting woman."

"She was a pirate." Shay said as she nodded her head. Not realising that they had never heard of a female pirate before. But then again she was in a village full of some should-be-non-existent ninja's so she really should have known better.

There was a crashing sound coming from the kitchen, the sound of glass hitting the floor followed by some very creative swears. A second or so later Naruto's head popped up and he gave them an awkward smile as he dumped the broken glass into his garbage can.

"It sounded like you were about to go into details and I got distracted. Please continue." Naruto said as he started to wash the dishes again as Kakashi leaned forward in his seat and propped himself up.

"Yes. Please continue. Tell us about you're great, great, grandmother." Kakashi murmured as he made himself comfortable, now _this _sounded like a story that he might find interesting.

"O-Okay. Let see she was thirteen when she first stepped foot on her fathers boat. He was a pirate too and because he had no son's decided that his empire should be passed on to one of his daughters. He asked his first born, and she said no. She wished to marry and leave the country. He asked his second daughter and she proved to be lacking in ruthlessness and wit. So then he came to my grandmother. And asked her if she would be the next pirate in the family and she said yes, and she'd be a much better one than him."

Kakashi chuckled as Naruto stopped washing the dishes and wiped his wet hands on a towel and walked back over to the kitchen table to sit down and listen before he broke another dish.


	22. Chapter 22

Kakashi had never laughed so hard in his life as he had when Shay finally reached the end of the story that she was telling them about her grandmother.

His sides ached and he was having trouble breathing. Naruto simply shook his head and clapped a hand over his mouth to stifle his mirth as Kakashi wheezed. "Oh..that..poor..man..." Referring to Shay's great, great, great, grandfather when his pirate wife made him walk the plank for upsetting her.

Gradually his mirth faded and the three of them sat there trying to figure out what to do next when Kakashi came up with the brilliant idea to play Truth or Dare poker and Naruto quickly told him that he was sitting this game out and refused to tell the copy nin why. Not that he didn't find out for himself three hands later when he put his cards down and cast Naruto (who was laughing his ass off from behind a book that he had been reading) a scathing look.

"Brat-" He snapped as he looked at the clock and decided that it was time to go home and stood up. "It was nice to meet you Shay, and as much fun as it is trying to figure out a creative way to cheat at cards and beat you may be...I really must be going." Kakashi said politely as he looked at her. Shay stood up too.

"It was very nice to meet you Kakashi." She said with a friendly smile. Kakashi blinked at her and smiled back. Her words warming his heart a little bit.

"It was _very _nice to meet you too doll." Kakashi said with a wink as Naruto stood up and followed him to the door.

"She seems to be doing okay considering what happened earlier." Kakashi said softly as they slipped out the front door together and stood just outside of the apartment. Naruto made a humming sound, he had noticed that Shay didn't seem to be suffering from fright or anything else considering what had happened earlier. It was as if nothing had happened at all earlier and he had been wondering if she was really as okay as she appeared to be.

"Yeah. I noticed that too." Naruto said.

"You should watch her carefully Naruto. She might have suffered a phychotic break or something." Kakashi warned.

"I doubt that just being knocked around a bit would do that to her, but thanks for the warning. I'll watch her." Naruto said gently as Kakashi walked over to the steps and started down them before stopping and saying.

"Don't be suprised if she has trouble sleeping for the next few weeks."

"I won't."

"And you should take her to see Tsunade at some point to make sure that she's really okay."

"Yes mom." Naruto said jokingly and Kakashi flipped him off. Deciding that it was for the best that he didn't even dignify Naruto's words with a response. He was too used to Naruto's playful banter to care much anyways.

"Night Naruto."

"Night Kakashi-sensei." Naruto waited until he was out of sight before going back inside and seeing what Shay was doing. She had already taken a shower form the looks of it and he snickered at her and wondered just how she had managed to do so in under ten minutes, but held his tongue as he stripped off his jacket and his shirt as he walked down the hall and grabbed some clean clothes and went to take a shower too.

He walked out thirty minutes later finger combing his hair as he dropped his wet towel and dirty clothes in the laundry basket and made his way to the living room and stopped when he saw that almost all of the lights were out except for the light from the small lamp next to his couch, and Shay was laying on the floor curled up on her side, wrapped up in a blanket, sound asleep. He sighed and shook his head at the sight.

Silly girl.

What was he going to do with her? She's going to catch a cold if I leave her like this. He thought as he dropped down to one knee and carefully, without waking her, picked her up, blanket and all and then stood up and walked back to his bedroom and laid her on the far side of the bed and arranged her body so that she would be comfortable and then started to leave when he heard her murmer his name in her sleep and decided that maybe he should just sleep in the bed with her.

He walked over to the bed and carefully climbed in. Making sure that he kept the blanket Shay had wrapped herself in firmly between himself and her temptingly soft body. He curled himself around her body, slipping and arm under her shoulders and his other around her waist and closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep.

(**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Kakashi lay in his bed thinking about Naruto's girl, Shayera. He simply couldn't help himself. It was rare that he ever got to meet such a genuinely sweet and caring person. Especially one that wasn't a shinobi. Shay had proved to be much warmer and nicer than he had thought she was. And beautiful.

Dear god Shayera was beautiful. So achingly beautiful that he felt himself harden at the mere thought of her.

He made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat, only vaguely aware that he had gotten aroused by the mere thought of Naruto's girlfriend. _God this is wrong. _He thought as he reached down and palmed his aching length through his sweat pants. There was very little chance of him being able to sleep with his body in this state, but jacking off to even an imagined image of Shay just felt wrong to him.

Like he was betraying Naruto or something.

He sighed and rolled over onto his side and decided to try using some of his ninja discipline and ignore the throbbing in his loins. And closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. But it was no good. Every time he felt himself starting to doze off he started to dream about her. About touching her soft skin, kissing her pale pink lips, of tangling his fingers through her dark hair as he drove himself into her soft warm body.

He growled and sat up.

God at this rate he wasn't going to get any sleep at all. He rolled out of bed and slipped on a pair of shoes and then grabbed his Jounin vest and slipped it on along with a clean face mask and made his way to the door of his apartment. Maybe a nice long jog would help take his mind off of the girl and slipped out of his apartment and used a teleportation jutsu to get himself over to training ground three and started running.


	23. Chapter 23

Shay woke up the next morning to the feel of something hard and heavy pressing down on her as something warm and wet ran along her throat before she felt teeth nip at her skin and opened her eyes to stare up at Naruto's messy blond hair. "N-Naruto?"

"Mmm." Was the only reply that he could manage as he latched onto her throat and started sucking, needing to mark her if nothing else. He let go of the soft skin and pulled back a little bit to see if the mark that he had left on her was dark enough before trailing his lips across her cheek in feather light kisses until he reached her lips and he sealed his mouth over hers, cutting off her next question with a searing kiss.

Shay made a strange sound and opened her mouth for him so that he could deepen the kiss. Naruto growled low in his throat and braced his body weight on his elbows and fisted his hands in her silken hair, pulling on it a little bit to show her which way he wanted her to tip her head so that he could slant his mouth over hers as he pressed his body against her softness exprementally. Not wanting her to think that he just wanted her for sex in the heat of the moment, making sure to leave himself open and unguarded so that she could lash out and push him away at any time if she felt frightened or trapped.

He expected her to push him away. To slap him and look at him like he was a monster. In truth he had woken up _feeling_ sort of like a monster. His body felt overly warm, and his groin was hard and aching. His heart beat accelerated and he had been able to _smell_ her sweet scent so much that he could practically taste it on his tongue. His body had responded to the scent, to the warm softness wrapped in his arms and he hadn't been able to stop himself.

Was he taking advantage of her? _Yes_.

He had picked this time, this opertunity to attack her when she was the most weakest and vulnerable. Did he want her to push him away-_no_. But he would respect her wishes if she did. And if she didn't push him away? If she didn't seek to stop him and save herself? He would treat her unlike any female he had had the pleasure of meeting. He would treat her as if she were a queen. Because she would be his.

In body and in deed.

And he would treasure her all the days of her life for it.

He lifted his mouth from hers, noting with some satisfaction that she was panting and her pretty face was a fetching pink, her wide green eyes glazed. "N-Naruto?"

"Forgive me-" He said softly as he pressed himself against her a little more, letting her feel his need for her against her stomach. She twitched under him and her eyes went impossibly wider and she got a shocked look on her face. Her breathing hitched and she lifted one of her hands and placed it against his chest as she grasped his wrist in her other hand. And for a moment he thought that she was going to push him away, but she didn't. She just lay there panting and gripping his wrist, her other hand against his chest, dead center over his heart and he felt his eyes start to change to crimson.

If he was going to do this, he had to tell her what he was, what he contained. And let her make the choice from there. "Do you want to stop?" Naruto asked curiously, needing to confirm her thoughts on this situation before he took the next step.

"I-I don't know... You have a very nice technique..." Shay panted as she stared at him. He gave her a slow, shy sexy smile.

"Thanks. I try." He said in a husky tone as he leaned down and brushed his lips across hers in a slow drugging kiss. Trying to coax her to let him go further. She lifted her head a little bit, meeting him half way and applying a little more pressure to the kiss, suprising him a little bit.

Shay didn't really seem the type to like aggression much, but he got the impression that she might like it with him. He decided to try a little aggression experimentally and ground himself against her as he ravished her mouth. She made a little whimpering noise and he lifted his lips from hers for a second to move her hand away from his chest and kissed her palm, finger tips, then ran his tongue along the pads of her fingers before sucking them lightly.

"Would you care if I made love to you?" Naruto asked as he released her hand. Shay had such an adorably confused look on her face, as if she couldn't understand why he would ask her that. As if she didn't think she was desireable, and sweet. It was almost heartbreaking.

"W-Why?"

"Because I like you." _Because I think I might have goofed and fallen for you a little bit. _Naruto thought as he pressed her palm against his cheek and looked at her through crimson eyes. He could feel Kyubbi rising in the back of his mind, trying to help him further along.

He ran his fangs along her palm, the sharp tips pricking her skin, causing little scarlet drops to well up in the middle of her palm. He licked the little nicks, cleaning the blood away as she asked. "Naruto. What's wrong with you're eyes?"

Ah. Finally he could tell her who and what he was and give her the choice of being his or not. He almost dreaded this conversation, but he couldn't in good consiounce make love to an innocent girl like her unless she knew what she was getting herself into. He lifted her hand to his eyes, letting her trace the shape before lacing his fingers with hers and pinning it to the mattress beside her head and using his other hand to work the buttons on her night shirt. Easily slipping them from the loops so that he scould slip his hand inside and touch her bare skin.

He ran his fingertips along the slender callum of her throat, lightly digging his finger tips into her skin, Shay cried out and jerked under him and he leaned down and kissed her collar bone, scraping his fangs along the swell of her left breast before he bothered to answer her question.

"It's the demon in me. It comes to the surface from time to time-" He said breathlessly as he leaned down to lick her nipple before sucking it into his mouth. Shay gasped at the sensation and arched her back, her fingers tightening around his hand, her fingernails digging into his knuckles. He made a little humming sound and lifted his head to unbutton her shirt further. Needing to feel more of her against him.

He slipped his hand along her ribs as she squirmed and tried to focus on what he had said about a demon. "Naruto. Stop. Be serious for a second."

"I am being serious." He said as he leaned down and trailed little wet open mouthed kisses down her stomach, pausing breifly to dip his tongue into her belly button. She made a strangled sound and reached down to grab his hair, intending to pull his head up away from her skin, but he smacked her hand away from his hair and pinned it before resuming his slow torture.

"N-Naruto! Dammit stop and explain what you meant about a demon. I don't understand."

Naruto blew across her moist skin, causing her to jump a little bit before sighing and sitting up so that he was looking at her. "Just what I said. I have a demon in me-" He took one of her hands and slipped it under his wife beater and pressed her palm against his stomach. "In here. Under my skin." Naruto said as he let his chakra flare a little bit so that she could see the faint glow of the seal on his stomach.

"But why is it-"

"It was sealed inside of me because the village was in danger." Naruto explained as he let her hand go, suddenly feeling as if he shouldn't continue since most people were disgusted by him at this point. But Shay wasn't most people. That much was made painfully obviously when she reached up and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him back down to her and kissed him on the cheek.

"I suppose that that is the best way to get rid of a demon." She said with a grin. Naruto stared at her in shock. Was she serious? That was all she had to say to him?

No, eww, you're a demon?

Or get the hell off of me you fucking monster?

No, drop dead?

No, I'll kill you if you keep touching me?

"Shay, do you have any idea what it would mean for me to make love to you when people consider me a demon too?"

"No. But you're a nice guy, so if you did, I'd find a way to deal-" Shay said with a smile and Naruto heard Kyubbi snicker in the back of his mind.

**_See kit, I told you that she would be a great mate for you._**

_Hn. So you did._

So what was keeping him from sealing the deal? The answer was simple.

Nothing, except the fact that when he leaned over her again to kiss her, he had to stop when she put her finger tips on his lips. And turned him down in the sweetest way he had ever been turned down before. With a small kiss on the cheek and a softly mumbled apology coupled with a promise. "Sorry, I can't do this now. Let me get to know you a little better before I commit myself to you okay."

Naruto nodded his head mutely thinking that she was right. He wouldn't want her to commit herself to a relationship with him if it was going to be half hearted. Because half hearted things never really worked. He shifted his body a little bit and let her slip out from under him and sit up and watched her fumble with the buttons on her night shirt with shaking hands and knew what holding herself back must be costing her.


	24. Chapter 24

Kakashi yawned as he walked through the crowded streets towards Naruto's apartment. He hadn't slept a wink last night, not even after he had gone out jogging to subdue the feelings of arousal that his thoughts of Shay had caused. He shook his head as if to clear it. As good as getting out and running until he literally dropped had been just hadn't been enough to calm the fire raging through his blood. The fire that _Naruto's_ girl had ignited.

Of course the irony of this situation was not lost on him. Naruto_ liked _Shay. And Kakashi _sort of liked_ her too. Though he wasn't normally the type of person to sniff around someone elses girl.

What amazed him though was that he had only spoken to her a little bit and yet he felt so..._connected_ to her. Like something had just clicked in his mind without him being aware of it. But that wasn't why he was going to Naruto's right now. In fact he would prefer to strike last night and the incident after wards from his mind completely.

He just had to go pick Naruto and Shay up, walk them to the training ground and then he would scamper off somewhere and hide his face in his favorite book for a while. Yeah, that sounded like a plan. A damn good plan. But first he had to pick up the two love birds.

He reached Naruto's apartment in record time. A whopping ten minutes after leaving his own place and walked up the steps leading to the front door and lifted his hand to knock when he heard a strange sound coming from Naruto's bedroom.

Worried that some of the villager may have gotten the drop on Naruto and may have hurt him and Shay, he quickly moved around the corner of the apartment hoping that he could get a visual of the two and determine if they needed medical attention and froze when he saw Naruto sort of laying on his side on the mattress his azure blue eyes on Shay's back as she tried to button her night shirt with shaking hands until finally Naruto shifted and got off of the bed and stood in front of her.

Shay tipped her head back and looked at him with wide startled eyes as he gently pushed her hands aside and started to button the rest of the buttons for her. Kakashi watched the cozy little scene between the two and felt a sudden pain in his chest and quickly moved away from the window before Naruto could catch him spying on them.

Private moments between two people should remain private after all. And he didn't want to make a habit of peeping on his former student any more than absolutely necessary.

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okay, here is where i will start re writing the chapters. I'm going to erase a few of the chapters after this and build up the relation ships between Naruto/Shay/ Kakashi. Any one with questions comments and advice should contact me okay.


	25. Chapter 25

Guilty.

Kakashi was feeling guilty about his earlier behavior at Naruto's, as he walked with the two through the village, watching them walk side by side. Noting the way that Naruto kept reaching out and brushing Shay's dark hair back from her face and how he would lean in and whisper something to her, or how he would occasionally link their hands together and make Shay blush.

They looked so cute. So happy. So-So...in _love_ that Kakashi found himself frowning at them from behind his Itcha-Itcha book.

_But they didn't really know each other._ His mind kept saying over and over again.

Naruto had known Shay all of a few days, so what was holding their fragile relationship together? What was it that they had seemed to bond over? It was obviously something that no one else knew or he wouldn't be giving himself a headache trying to figure it out simply to satisfy his own curiosity.

He reached up and massaged his temple (not for the first time in the past twenty minutes) and caught Shay looking at him with a worried frown on her face before she looked away, apparently not wanting him to know that she knew something was up with him. And he almost growled at her for taking her eyes off of Naruto to even look at him. After all Naruto was the one trying to woo her, not him.

They reached the training ground in twenty minutes and found Sai and Tenzou waiting there for them.

"Hello Shay." Tenzou said as they walked up. Shay smiled shyly at him and greeted him back before turning to greet Sai who looked more than a little surprised that she was talking to him as Naruto pulled the blanket that he had brought with him again, out of the scroll, the loud popping sound startling Shay so much that she tripped over her own feet and fall back against Kakashi who was forced to drop his book so that he could catch her before she could fall all the way down and noted that her face looked a little pale.

"W-What the-"

Naruto looked at her and paled a little bit.

_Fuck. _He'd forgotten that she wasn't aware that he was a ninja. He was about to explain to her what had just happened along with his job, specifically, but Yamoto beat him to it. "It's a summoning scroll. Haven't you ever seen one before?" He asked as he stared at her face, studying her reaction. More than a little suspicious by her reaction.

Kakashi and Sai were too, though they didn't say anything about it as she shook her head no as Naruto stood up and reached for her.

She stiffened a little bit and looked at his hand as if she expected it to bite her or something. Naruto waited patiently, deciding that if she couldn't look past this then they had no real future together and was more than a little impressed when she still reached out and took his hand.

_**She's braver than she lets on**. _Kyubbi said in the back of Naruto's mind.

Naruto suppressed the urge to snort. Of course she was brave. She had engaged in sort of love making with him earlier and it took a certain special sort of person, to look past the demon, to see _him_ enough to do such a thing. "Shay, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you this sooner, but I didn't want to chance it because I knew how much things like this freaked you out-"

Kakashi listened with interest as Naruto spoke, his visible eye widening a little bit as he realised that Shay was a _civilian_. And not just any civilian but one who was living with the village biiju.

_Oh dear god. _Kakashi thought as Naruto explained things to Shay.

Kakashi had thought Naruto was being stupid before for letting her stay with him. Now he wasn't so sure that Naruto _was _being stupid.

It was true that most civilian and shinobi relationships didn't work out very well, but some of them managed to work out. Still, the thought of Naruto tying himself to someone who would be utterly defenseless when Naruto was away on missions, with no one to protect her or keep her safe, made Kakashi's stomach churn.

"But I'm a ninja and-" Naruto stopped speaking as Shay lifted her hand in the air and braced himself for impact, just knowing that she was going to hit him, and he was going to deserve it for entering some sort of relationship with her without warning her first. But Shay was just full of surprises and smacked him firmly on the rear, hard enough to make him yelp and jump away from her before she said.

"I had a suspicion after the way Kakashi knocked you around yesterday, but I didn't want to say anything... Still, try and warn me before you pull anymore shinobi tricks with scrolls and such." Naruto blinked and slowly nodded his head as he rubbed his sore butt cheek.

"Alright. I will." He assured her with a wary look as she sat down on the blanket, which was under the one tree in the middle of the training ground, far, far away form all of the other tree's. No doubt Naruto thought it would be best to keep Shay well within sight after yesterday's incident in the woods.

Shay smiled at him and made a shooing motion with her hand and Naruto shook his head as he turned to the to the others to see what they were doing today as Shay lay back on the blanket. Naruto paired off with Sai and Yamoto to spar since Sakura was no where to be seen or heard from today. And Kakashi decided to sit in the tree above Shay and watch her for a little while from behind his book.

After an hour or so passed Shay seemed to doze off, giving Kakashi the perfect oppertunity to study her in her sleep. He dropped down out of the tree and landed soundlessly beside her and shifted so that he was shoulder level and stared at her face.

She really was a beauty.

Almost like Snow White out of the fairy tail. Skin like fresh snow, lips as pale as roses. And probably just as sweet. Eyes so deep and green that they surpassed the beauty of the finest emeralds. She was slightly taller than most girls, slender, delicately boned, much like Sakura, but with lusher curves.

He followed the slight rise and fall of her breasts as she breathed. She made a soft sound in the back of her throat and turned her head slightly to the left, several strands of her silken hair slipping across her cheek to her nose making her squirm in an effort to get away from it because it was tickling her nose.

She turned onto her side and rubbed her face against the blanket and sneezed as Sai came walking up to him and sat down next to him on the blanket. "You seem interested in something."

"So naturally you got curious and had to come and investigate." Kakashi said in a slightly amused tone. Sai shrugged his shoulders. He hadn't really gotten curious, though he was just a little bit curious about why the copy nin was hovering so close to Naruto's girlfriend.

"Not really. Naruto and Yamoto-san are almost done sparring. They wanted to know if you wanted to join us for lunch. Their planning to hit the Korean BBQ."

"Sounds like a plan. Is Naruto going to wake Shay or let her continue sleeping?"

Sai shrugged his shoulders, reached out and quickly poked Shay in the side, hard enough to make her yelp and jerk upright and look around as he laughed and jumped up and ran over to Naruto, calling loudly. "Naruto! Kakashi poked Shay and woke her up!"

Kakashi stared at the younger man's back through a narrowed blue eye and mentally growled.

_That little-_

_(***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)_

Kakashi glared at Naruto as they walked down the street.

He wanted so badly to knock that damn evil grin off of the teens face, but there was a lady present and he didn't want to get yelled at for decking her man, so he decided to wait and nail the little punk later, like he was going to do with Sai. But Naruto had other plans. And the second he looked away from the blond little fox, the heel of Naruto's hand connected with his face, pushing his head back as he went sprawling to the ground with a faintly amused expression on his masked face.

So the kitsune wanted to play huh?

Naruto stopped walking when Shay paused and turned to look at him, a wide eyed expression on her face as Kakashi got up and let out a low growl before he grabbed Naruto around the waist and picked him up and then body slammed him. Naruto hit the ground with a loud grunt as Kakashi flopped down on top of him elbow first knocking the air from his lungs.

_Oh no he didn't. _

**_Uh, yes he did. _**Kyubbi snickered in delight.

Sai decided to enter the fight with a quick, "Winner gets a kiss from Shay!" As he jumped on the two of them and started rolling around punching whoever ended up in his way.

Shay watched the three with a disgruntled look on her pretty face as Yamoto walked back to her and stood there beside her watching the three and wondered how he was going to break them up without being drawn into the fight himself since his senpai had obviously fallen prey to Naruto's playful nature first.

After several moments of watching the three, nearly grown men roll around in the dirt and beat the hell out of each other Shay had finally had enough and walked up to the three and grabbed the back of the two heads that she could get her hands on, and slammed them together once, twice, a third time before grabbing the two men by the scruff of the neck and dragging them away from the third person, and dropped them unceremoniously onto the ground with a loud yelp from both.

Naruto and Kakashi blinked up at her as she turned her head and looked at Sai before saying, "I had better not get my hands on you."

Sai grinned at her. She wouldn't. He had just wanted to do some bonding with his teammates and that had just seemed to best way to go. "Say no more." Sai said as he conveniently recalled having something else to do right at that moment and ran away laughing like mad as Tenzou gaped at her with a mixture of horror and apprehension.


	26. Chapter 26

"Honestly you two. Acting like kids in the middle of the street. You're ninja's! You should act like it." Shay scolded the two roughed up, tousled, bruised and bloody males in front of her.

Naruto had the decency to look ashamed, but Kakashi was far from impressed. He wasn't a little kid, even though he sometimes slipped up (like earlier) and got scolded for it.

"But he-" Kakashi started to say when Shay walked-no she didn't exactly walk, he noted with a strange expression on his face. She glided over to him, she was so graceful that her feet didn't seem to touch the ground at all. Weird. Why hadn't he noticed _that_ before.

"Did I ask you to speak?" Shay asked in a dangerously low tone as she stepped into his personal space and leaned down a little bit so that they were eye to eye. He blinked up at her with a startled look on his masked face.

"N-No." He stammered as his startled look quickly became wary.

That was the thing about unknown females. They could surprise you more easily than any others could, and often times it was a show of temper that one got the brunt of. Which was probably why he was starting to get a little leery of Shay. He didn't know her very well but she had just kicked _his_, and _Naruto's_ asses and was now scolding them both like children in front of god and everyone. And he just knew that the rumor mills would reach the ears of some of his old Anbu buddies before this time tomorrow.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry.

He was twenty five for fucks sake! He didn't usually get scolded like this. Not even the Hokage scolded him (well except for that one time when he had handed in half a mission report written on toilet paper, but well, he had had no choice but to use the rest).

Shay studied both him and Naruto with a look akin to a disapproving mother staring down two small children for tracking mud into her nice clean house and Kakashi glanced at Naruto out of the corner of his eye and wondered if the blond was having as much trouble keeping himself from squirming as Kakashi was.

Naruto however seemed to be holding up much better than Kakashi was under Shayera's disapproving stare before she shook her head and sighed as she reached out and put a hand on both of their heads and ruffled their hair like they were little kids and said something along the lines of, "Boys will be boy's I guess."

Naruto grinned and got to his feet obviously more aware than Kakashi that they had been forgiven for their playful fighting and held his hand out to the older man and waited for him to take his hand so that he could help him up. Kakashi took his hand and let the blond pull him to his feet and looked over at Shayera as Tenzou clasped her hands and said very loudly.

"Oh my god, you're my new hero! I can't believe that I actually got to live to see the day when Kakashi-senpai and Naruto-kun would both be scolded like children! Can I have your autograph?"

"Um, but I-"

"No wait. An autograph wouldn't work. I have to take you to meet Maito Gai and Lady Tsunade-"

"Uhhh..."

"You can tell them what happened here and how you reigned Kakashi and Naruto in and scolded them so that they can start reigning them in too!"

"B-But I-I'd rather-"

"Tenzou! Get your damn hands off of her right now!" Naruto snapped as he flung a kunai at the Anbu. Tenzou side stepped the kunai and smiled at Shayera before saying something lame like, "I just remembered leaving my stove on. Later!" Then disappeared in a puff of smoke that gave Shay a coughing fit.

No doubt he was off to tell Tsunade about them being scolded.

The bastard.


	27. Chapter 27

Kakashi joined them for lunch after all, though Yamoto and Sai were summoned away on 'business'. (They had both run away like cowards.)

Leaving the three alone together the rest of the walk. "Sooo, Shay, how are you liking it here in the village?" Kakashi asked awkwardly as they walked through the crowded streets. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked around, noting how many people were staring at Naruto and Shay. They were probably thinking of the best way to hurt the two. _The_ _assholes. _

Kakashi thought darkly as they reached the place where they were going and reached out and pulled the door open for them, figuring that it was best if they went in first since some of the people inside were friendly with Naruto and were more likely to help him out if he got into trouble than anyone standing around outside.

Shay gave him a shy smile and stepped through the door, followed by Naruto before answering.

"I think the village is very nice-" Shay said as she looked around the restaurant an paled a little bit and quickly turned and started to walk back outside when Naruto stepped through and blocked the door with his body. Shay felt the intense need to hiss at him like a cat, but refrained as Kakashi stepped through and waved at a big heavy set man, with strange marks on his cheeks and bright, shaggy hair, behind the counter.

Shay pressed herself closer to Naruto's side and looked around the place again, there were people dressed in black, navy blue and green everywhere. Some had scars, while others were playing with really sharp knives and talking, and she felt very, very nervous being here. Especially since some of them looked like they were drinking beer or something. "O-On second thought. My home town was much better." The worst they had had in Tombstone Arizona was random rock throwing.

But that had been mostly kids. And it hadn't the bad part of town either.

Naruto saw a few people that he knew, Genma, Ibiki, Inoichi, Choza, and Shikaku, all sitting in a corner booth together and waved at them. Inoichi noticed him wave and smiled and elbowed Shikaku in the ribs and whispered something to him causing him to turn around in his seat and look at the three standing in the door way and slowly unfolded himself from his seat an walked across the room, deciding tat it was about time to say 'hi' to the group.

"Naruto! Kakashi! How are you guys?" He asked as he walked up to them and shook Naruto's hand then Kakashi's before casting a curious look at Shay.

_So this was Naruto's girlfriend?_ Shikaku thought as he stared at the pretty little thing attached to Naruto's side.

She was nervous. He could tell by the way that she caught him staring at her and hid her face from him. Burying it against Naruto's shoulder, causing the blond to chuckle an lift his hand to pat her back. "Hi Shikaku." Naruto said with a smile as he wrapped an arm around the girl's slender waist and rested his chin on top on her head as he listened to Shikaku and Kakashi exchange pleasantries.

"Hello Shikaku. Is the drinking good today?"

Shikaku grinned at the copy nin. "You know it." He said as Choza walked over to them and handed Kakashi and Naruto.

"You guys know where you want to sit?" He asked curiously.

Naruto was the one who answered. "We want one of the window seats if it isn't too much trouble." Choza smiled at the teen.

"No trouble Naruto-" He said then glanced at Shay and frowned. As happy as he was that the boy had himself someone special, it wasn't a good idea for him to sit down and eat with the girl in plain sight. It was simply too dangerous. There were so many things that _could_ and possibly _would_ go wrong. There were too many shinobi who disliked Naruto and a lot of them knew the laws concerning him like the back of their hands.

And to make matters worse, some of them were in the restaurant watching Naruto and his little friend, and they were the sort of hardened men who didn't care who they hurt or how they hurt them as long as someone ended up bleeding, broken or dead.

Choza glanced at Kakashi and noted that his nose was stuck in his precious Itcha-Itcha again, yet he couldn't help the over whelming sense of blood lust that was radiating from the Jounin when he looked at him over the top of his book.

_Ah, so that's why he's here._ Choza thought as he picked up three menus and some gold and red colored napkins with eating utensils wrapped in them and without another word led the three over to an empty window seat. He set up the table for them then sat back and let them sit down before saying cheerfully as they picked up their menus. "My name is Choza and I'll be your server today so make sure that this cheap bastard-" Choza pointed at Kakashi who looked up from his menu with a 'what' look on his masked face. "Leaves a nice tip for me."

Kakashi snorted and looked at his menu again and muttered. "Fat chance of that after hearing that cheap bastard remark." Naruto snickered and hid his face behind his menu as Kakashi glanced up again and gave him a narrow eyed look over the top of his menu.

"Something funny-" Kakashi said pleasantly as he kicked Naruto in the shin under the table. Naruto jumped and snapped his menu closed and gave the Jounin a mean look as Kakashi gave him a devious smile then looked at his menu again.

"Tch, I'm going to have a bruise there asshole." Naruto muttered under his breath and Shay looked from one to the other and sighed tiredly. God would they ever behave?


	28. Chapter 28

"So how much of the village have you seen so far?" Kakashi asked as his food was set down in front of him. He reached out and picked up the napkin that had been sitting to his left and broke the little paper band around it and unfolded the napkin and pulled out a pair of chop sticks and used them to pick up a piece of stir fried beef and some rice and looked at Shay for a second, wondering if she was the type to stare, and pulled down his mask and popped the food into his mouth and chewed slowly.

Naruto looked at him, his face blank as his azure blue eyes flickered to his face then back to his menu again. While Shay didn't even bother looking at him. She just sat there next to Naruto, looking around, seemingly enjoying the designs on the painted mirror above Kakashi's head. The mirror was a rare work of art that consisted of window paint in vivid neon blues, greens, and oranges, pinks and reds. The picture painted on the clear glass was meant to look like a carp pond with little lily pads and lotus flowers floating on the surface.

There was red and gold trim around the edges of the mirror with little tassels hanging form intricate knots at the corners of the mirror. Kakashi stared at her for a second and had to clear his throat to get her attention since she didn't seem to have heard him ask his question. Her green eyes flickered to his face. "I'm sorry what did you say?"

Naruto leaned in close to her and whispered. "The village. How much have you seen?"

Shay looked at the blond funny then hissed. "You were with me. So why are you asking?"

Kakashi snorted and started eating again before Shay finally turned her attention back to him and gave him an apologetic smile. "Not much. So far I've only seen a few stores. And that was when Naruto took me out to get some things the other day." Kakashi made a humming sound as he swallowed his food.

"Then you haven't seen much of the village."

"No. Not really." Shay said as a faint blush colored her cheeks. Kakashi stared at her for a second then took another bite of his food as he wracked his brain in an effort to think of something else to say. He found it just a little bit odd that he had been able to carry on a decent conversation with her before and now...

Now it was as if he had used up all his previous conversation starters. He just couldn't think of what to say. "I'll have to show you around the village properly one of these days." Naruto said as Choza walked up with his and Shay's food piled high on a tray.

Naruto smiled at Choza and rubbed his hands together as the man put several dishes down in front of him. "Alright. Thanks Choza!" Naruto said as he pulled out his chop sticks and started eating as Shay mumbled a quiet thank you to Choza who winked at the girl before walking off.

Kakashi sat back in his seat and watched Shay pull out her chop sticks and try to hold them and was surprised to find that she didn't know how to hold or use them. Naruto stopped eating and glanced over at her and frowned as he watched her attempt to try and pick up a piece of red pepper only to drop it.

After several failed attempts to use the chop sticks Shay very calmly set them aside and folded her hands in her lap and just sat there with an embarrassed look on her pretty face. "Is something wrong Shay? Your not eating." Kakashi said gently, not wanting to embarrass her further, yet felt it was unavoidable if she needed to ask for help anyways.

She gave him a wide eyed look and flushed a deeper shade of pink as she stuttered. "I-I'm n-not h-hungry."

"Oh. It looked like you were up until you couldn't use the chop sticks. Do you want me to show you how to use them?" Kakashi offered innocently. Shay perked up instantly and reached out and grasped his hand and squeezed it a little bit and said with an almost comical expression on her face.

"Oh god bless you, yes. Help me before I accidentally put someone's eye out with these stupid sticks." Both Naruto and Kakashi snickered as Kakashi picked up his chop sticks and showed Shay how to use them.


	29. Chapter 29

After Naruto was finished eating he sat back in his seat and folded his hands in his lap and just sat there enjoying the company that he was in as he digested his food while Kakashi got up to go and pay for the food. Shay looked at Naruto who looked like he was starting to doze off and chewed on her bottom lip for a second and silently debated with herself on whether or not she should go to the bathroom since she had been holding it for the past forty five minutes or so.

She wanted to tell Naruto that she needed to go to the restroom, yet at the same time it was sort of an embarrassing subject to say to a guy that you didn't really know all that well. After another second or so she carefully slid herself out of her seat and quietly made her way to the narrow hall way across from the kitchen where the bathroom was and started to slip inside when someone came out of the men's room.

Shay froze and stared at him for a second and recognising him as one of the guys that had exchanged words with Naruto and Kakashi. She blushed and quickly skirted around him, not really wanting to explain her need for the ladies room and slipped through the swinging door and found herself an empty stall.

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Naruto was dozing when Kakashi returned to the table and laid a hand on his shoulder and scanned the patrons before leaning down and whispering. "Naruto, where is Shay?" Naruto's eyes snapped open and his body jerked under his former sensei's hand as he planted his hands on the table with a bang as he scanned the faces at the tables and booths.

"I don't see her anywhere."

"Yes. I know. I can't see her either." Kakashi said quietly as he scanned the room again as Choza came walking up, a frown on his face.

"Is something wrong?" The man asked curiously as he looked around the room absent mindedly noting that Shikaku wasn't drinking in his booth.

"Shayera is missing." Naruto hissed in a low angry tone, his mind going through some scenario's that could explain why the girl was missing. Choza blinked and looked around the room again wondering if someone had managed to snatch the girl and if so, could they still be in the restaurant?

"Do you think she could have slipped away to use the ladies room?" Choza asked as he scratched his cheek. Naruto scowled at him. It was a possibility that Shay had gone to the ladies room, but he was sure that she would have said something since she knew that there were people around who would hurt her if she gave them a chance to get their hands on her. So that left the question, why had she left his side without saying anything?

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Shay stood at the sink washing her hands when a woman with shoulder length blue hair wearing skimpy teal silk oriental style dress walked in and walked over to the counter. Shay looked over at her, she just couldn't seem to help herself. For some odd reason or another she just seemed to be digging the bright colors and designs around her. Almost like a raccoon liked shiny things, her eyes were simply drawn to things that looked interesting or pretty.

"Well. Your pretty." The woman said as she pulled out a little tube of ruby red lip stick. Shay blinked and looked away, blushing a little bit and unsure if the woman was talking to her or her own reflection until the woman set her lip stick aside and looked at her.

"Your new around the village." The woman said as she looked Shay over from head to foot. Shay suppressed the urge to shiver as she looked at woman's eyes. She would have been stunningly beautiful if it wasn't for those cold mint green eyes.

She had the eyes of a shark or something. "Uhh...y-yeah..." Shay said nervously as she turned off the water and looked around for a paper towel or something to dry her hands with when the woman asked.

"Have you made any new friends?"

This was a trap. Shay sensed it the second the woman's question left her lips. Her heart slammed against her ribs in alarm and she suddenly felt that she couldn't turn her back on the woman so she stood very still and wiped her wet hands on her capri pants as the woman went on. "I saw you sitting with some little blond-" Her unnaturally sweet voice slowly becoming venomous. "He looks nice. He has that...boy next door look that kind of _pulls_ you in and hides his true nature. Tell me honey, do you like associating with the village demon?"

Shay's temper spiked a little bit and she stared at the woman as if she'd like her to burst into flames. Just who the hell did she think she was talking about Naruto like that. Nasruto had been nothing but nice and kind to her the whole time that she had been in the village. He was a genuinely kind and sweet natured person!And Shay would be lying if she said that hearing someone refer to the blond as a demon didn't bother her. Because it bothered her a lot.

The woman laughed softly, obviously amused by Shay's anger. "Naruto is a nice guy. He doesn't deserve to be called a demon-" Shay started to say when the woman's hand shot out and caught her across the face. Shay's head jerked to the side and her self defense training took hold. She turned her head to look at the woman, her mind going blank as her hand shot out and caught the woman's cheek with her palm.

The loud crack of flesh hitting flesh sounded so distant over the roaring of blood in her ears. The woman looked at her for a second and smiled a very creepy, very chilling smile and grabbed the front of Shay's shirt. Shay retaliated by grabbing her wrist and planting her fist in her face, the blow causing the woman to lose her grip on her shirt and stagger back a step or two, pissing the woman off even more if the way Shay suddenly found the woman's foot in her stomach was any indication at all.

The air rushed from Shay's lungs and everything went blank as her temper reached it's boiling point.

When all sense of self returned Shay stood over the woman, panting. Her wrist and shoulder throbbing painfully. Jesus Christ. Just what the hell had she done? She wondered when she felt a hand fall on her shoulder and turned her head to look at the scared face of the man that she had passed when she had first come in here. "Y-You-"

"Damn girl. I knew that there was going to be trouble, when I saw her walk in. But I guess I shouldn't have worried about Naruto's little tiger."

"Don't call me that."

"Don't call you what? Naruto's? Or a tiger?"

"Either. I'm not Naruto's and I'm not a tiger." Shay said as she shrugged his hand off of her shoulder with a small winch. The man got an amused look on his scared face and looked around as the broken tile's on the wall and the woman bleeding and unconscious on the floor.

_Uh-huh_. He thought as she slipped around him and out of the bathroom. He looked around the room one last time and made a small mental note to tell Choza that he'd pay for the repairs since he doubted that Naruto could and slipped out of the room behind her so that he could tease her a little more.

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Naruto shrugged off Kakashi's hand and slipped out of his seat and was about to go down the narrow hall a few feet away and look for her when he saw Shikaku coming out of the hallway behind Shay. The man was slouching a little bit, sort of like Kakashi did when he was trying to lure someone into a false sense of security so that he could knock them around. He leaned over Shay a little bit and said something that made her turn her head to glare at him as he straitened his spine a little bit and snickered as she growled something back to him before leaving his side and returning to the table.

"Shayera? Are you okay?" Naruto asked as she finally reached them, he held out his hand and waited until she took it before pulling her into his arms and doing a quick stock of things to make sure that she was really okay, noting the way she flinched when his hand reached her shoulder blades. All in all the small display of affection took no longer than a second or two, and to anyone looking, it would see like nothing more than a hug between friends.

But it had been enough for him to catch the faint traces of blood on her skin and to know that she was hurt. He just wasn't sure how badly she was hurt.

"I'm fine Naruto." Shay said with a tight lipped smile and Naruto looked at her for a second, his brows slanted down in an almost angry frown before he looked at Kakashi who simply shrugged though he could understand the teens confusion.

Something must have happened that Shay didn't want them to know about. It was easy to tell that she was hiding something from the way that she was acting.

"I'm ready to go. Are you guys ready? I'm ready." Shay babbled for a second before grasping Naruto's hand then slowly made her way to the door before Naruto could so much as say a word.

_That is the absolute last time that I ever use a public bathroom._ Shay thought as her eyes started to burn a little bit and she hastily wiped at her eyes to make sure that the tears didn't slip as images of the fight flashed through her mind.

Her left shoulder and right wrist were both throbbing from where she had been slammed into the red and cream tile wall just under the napkin dispenser. And she wasn't completely sure but it felt like her back had been cut by the broken tiles or something, she could pretty much feel the blood starting to leak through the rips in her shirt.

Naruto followed behind her and looked back at Kakashi who was talking with Shikaku in whispered tones, obviously trying to figure out what had happened before he followed them out. Which gave Naruto enough time to pull her into the alley just outside of the restaurant and forcibly turn her so that her hands were braced on the brick wall in front of her and started to pull her shirt up so that he could see her back.

"Naruto?"

"Hush, don't draw attention to us. Just let me see how bad it is."

"I'd really rather not." Shay said softly as she rested her forehead on her arm.

Naruto gave a quiet humorless laugh. "Yes. I can see that. Now please be quiet and let me see how bad it is." Naruto said gently as he pulled the back of her shirt up a little more and lightly ran his finger tips along the middle of her back, right over her spine where he could see and feel little gnashes in her skin.

He narrowed his eyes and slipped his hand a little further up, and froze when she flinched away from his hand.

"Where does it hurt the most?" He asked as his fingers came into contact with something warm and sticky.

"It hurts everywhere." Shay hissed as he hiked the back of her shirt up a little more and nearly screamed when Naruto seemed to dig his finger nails into her skin. She made a funny sound and jerked away from him, trying to escape him. Naruto muttered something under his breath and moved himself closer to her until he had her completely trapped between his body and the wall.

"Naruto-"

"_Hush Shayera_." Naruto said in a rough voice as he put a hand over her mouth to help her be quiet as he hiked her shirt up around her shoulders and gave a low feral sounding growl as he pressed his body just a little bit closer and used the fore arm of his free hand to push her front against the wall in front of her completely as he caught sight of a jagged piece of glass sticking out of one of the deep cuts on her left shoulder and tried to dig it out knowing that the wound would get infected if it wasn't taken care of.

He could dig it out now then go and take Shayera to see Tsunade so that she could take care of her back properly. Shay grabbed the hand covering her mouth and made a strangled sound as she dug her finger nails into his skin as he worked the piece of glass out of her back a little bit at a time and held it in his hand.

Shay was shaking and crying, her finger nails had clawed away at some of the skin on his hand and he was bleeding as he threw the piece of bloody glass aside and let Shay's shirt fall back into place and pulled her back away from her wall and held her against him, making sure to keep his hands close to her waist so that he didn't accidentally hurt her even more than he already had. "I'm sorry Shay." He said quietly as he rested his cheek on the top of her head for a second and tried to control his impulse to go back into Choza's restaurant and murder the one who had hurt Shay.

Kakashi stood around the corner waiting for Naruto to calm himself. To be perfectly honest he was just a little bit sceptical of what Shikaku had told him about Shay taking on a woman in the ladies room because of something she had said about Naruto.

Shay didn't seem like the type of person who would lose her temper and get into a knock down drag out fight with some chunin level nin in the bathroom. But he found it fascinating that Shikaku obviously thought that that was what had happened.

_Maybe I should keep a closer eye on Miss Michales from now on_.

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Wow. This was a long and sucky chapter...

I'm sorry but I was trying to lead up to a trip to the tower where Shay would meet Tsunade and Naruto would be sent off on a mission that would take him out of the village for three or four days, leaving Shay in the care of Kakashi.


	30. Chapter 30

Lub-a-dub-dub, have you read my other oc stories Protector and Stranger than fiction, and When I fell for you. They haven't been updated in a while but hopefully I can fix that soon enough. In the mean time read them and tell me what you think ok.

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_Kakashi stood around the corner waiting for Naruto to calm himself. To be perfectly honest he was just a little bit sceptical of what Shikaku had told him about Shay taking on a woman in the ladies room because of something she had said about Naruto._

_Shay didn't seem like the type of person who would lose her temper and get into a knock down drag out fight with some chunin level nin in the bathroom. But he found it fascinating that Shikaku obviously thought that that was what had happened._

_Maybe I should keep a closer eye on Miss Michales from now on_.

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He waited until Naruto was calm enough to think strait and was leaning against the restaurant with his arms crossed over his chest when Naruto came out of the alley with Shay cradled in his arms. "How bad?" Kakashi asked as he pushed away form the wall.

Naruto got a dark look on his face for a second before looked down at the girl as she buried her face against his shoulder to hide the fact that she had been reduced to tears and still wasn't able to stop herself from crying. "She's pretty banged up. And there were some deep cuts on her back and shoulder. I even had to dig out a piece of glass that was embedded in her shoulder."

Kakashi sighed quietly and nodded his head. "Then you'll be taking her to see Tsunade." It wasn't a question. It was merely a softly spoken and somewhat _dreaded_ fact. Naruto nodded his head soberly and bent his knees a little bit and took a flying leap up. Kakashi followed behind him as he leaped from roof top to roof top.

The trip to the tower took twenty minutes, and during that time neither Kakashi nor Naruto said anything. Shay didn't speak either. That little fact must have bothered Naruto since he kept looking down at her and frowning every time they landed on someones roof. Finally once they reached the tower, both nin landing lightly on their feet outside of the building Kakashi finally managed to ask.

"Is she okay Naruto?"

Naruto's expression darkened a little more as he looked down at Shay and noted that she had seemingly lost consciousness some time after he had carried her out of the alley. Her head fell back over his arm, her pale face twisted in pain, her breathing was slightly labored and despite the fact that she was out cold she was still crying. Meaning that the pain in her back and shoulders was still tugging at her mind, unable to completely block it out even in her current state.

And to make matters even more frustrating she was bleeding more than she had before and he wasn't sure if it was because he had removed the shard of glass from her back or if it was from where he had had to use his finger nails to open the wound a little more so that he could dig out the piece of glass. Her blood was starting to soak through his jacket sleeve and while it wasn't enough to prove fatal to her, it still bothered him greatly.

"I don't think so."

"Then you better hurry on ahead." Kakashi said as he moved to open the door for his former student who gave him a grateful look before slipping inside of the building and running up the steps two at a time.

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Tsunade was in the middle of re hearing Tenzou's amusing story about Naruto's new friend (Yes finally the rumors had been confirmed! She had an interesting conversation planned for her gaki, especially when the strange girl he had taken in wasn't from the village and among other things a _civilian_) when Naruto's voice sounded outside of her office.

Shizune, who had been listening over by her office door reached out and opened it for Naruto just in time to keep him from ramming the door with his shoulder as he came running into the room carrying a dark haired young woman.

"Naruto what the hell-" Tsunade snapped as she jumped to her feet as Tenzou jumped up from his seat and swore.

"Shit! What happened?"

"Someone jumped her while we were at Choza's-" Naruto hissed as he brushed past the man and moved closer to Tsunade's desk. "Tsunade, will you please heal her?" Naruto asked, forcing as much anger from his tone as possible.

Tsunade looked at the girl and frowned for a second.

_Is this the girl that Iruka, Sakura and several others in the village were chomping at the bit about?_ She wondered as she looked at the dark haired beauty crying in Naruto's arms. She glanced at Naruto and noticed that he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the girl, his expression shuttered and unreadable.

God it was like looking at a completely different person. Tsunade mused as she quickly cleared her desk with a sweep of her arm and motioned for Naruto to bring the girl closer so that she could help her. Naruto set her on the desk in an semi sitting position and kept her from falling by stepping in as close as he could and letting Shay's head rest on his shoulder.

Tsunade ordered Tenzou from the room and then asked Shizune to go and get some rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs a sewing needle and thread, and some bandages then turned her attention to the girl's back and pulled the bloody garment up around the girls shoulders and paled a little bit when she saw the three deep bloody cuts on the girl's shoulder and the deeper one directly where her spine was.

_God in heaven._ Tsunade thought as she placed her fingers as close to the wound as she dared and let her chakra spike so that she could check the girl's spine for injury as well as the total depth of the wound. If it looked like it was going too deep she would have to admit the girl to the hospital to make sure that the wound remained sterile and uninfected. But if it wasn't too deep then all she would have to do is seal it closed with her chakra and let the skin knit together on it's own around the chakra.

She checked the wound and pulled back when she realised just how dangerously close the girl's spine had come to being severed. She glanced up at Naruto for a second, wondering if he was aware of how close the girl that he was holding had come to being killed. The look on his face spoke _volumes_.

He _knew_ alright and he wasn't happy about it. Not one fucking bit. "I may need to admit her to the hospital." She said after a second or so. Naruto was quiet even as his grip on the girl's shoulders tightened a little bit before he forced himself to relax.

"Do what you have to Tsunade. Just help her." Naruto said quietly as he looked down at the girl again, this time he had such a sad look on his face.


	31. Chapter 31

An hour or so later Tsunade walked out of the ER and peeled off the bloody rubber gloves covering her hands.

Naruto stood with his back against the wall, his shoulders slumped over a little bit, his semi long blond hair falling in his face, hiding his eyes. Her gaki didn't look too good. Tsunade noted as she pulled off the mask and tossed it along with the gloves into the nearest trash can and looked at him.

"Is she okay?" Naruto asked in a very calm, very quiet almost child like voice as she walked over to him. Down the hall she could see Tenzou, Kakashi, Sai and Sakura hanging around outside of the waiting room. Apparently they had decided to wait here with him for news about the girl's condition.

A good thing too since Tsunade would have had trouble with him if the girl had slipped into a coma or died. Tsunade shivered as she remembered the last time one of Naruto's friends had gotten hurt on the job and slipped into a coma.

Naruto had been fourteen and had ambushed a group of Jounin on an S class suicide mission and had stolen his mission scroll and carried out said mission, without help, or re enforcements. And he had repeated the process for weeks after the first time until his friend had woken up.

She didn't think he would do that again, but just in case he decided to try and pull another fast one or nine, it was good to know that Kakashi and the others were standing by to help her stop him.

"She's fine Naruto-" Tsunade said gently. The teen didn't look at her, it just seemed like a waste of his energy right now. Still he was happy to hear that Shayera was okay. Even if it meant that he had to make a few very painful and difficult decisions to make sure that nothing like this ever happened again.

"Her spine wasn't damaged, and a majority of the wounds were shallow enough not to be overly painful. I've sealed them and put some stitches in the one that you said you pulled a piece of glass from. She didn't loose too much blood so didn't need a transfusion. All she needs now is a few days here and another few days of limited movement until her back heals..." Tsunade's voice trailed off a little bit as Naruto pushed away from the wall and started walking slowly away from her when Tsunade finally asked.

"Naruto, what do you know about that girl? I mean, is she your friend? A lover? What can you tell me to explain her presence here in the village?" And why did she have scars on her body that looked like torture scars? Tsunade wondered as Naruto stopped walking and just stood there looking at the floor for a second or so before he said in a low dangerous tone.

"Name-Shayera Michales. Age-sixteen. Not a ninja. Has had no previous knowledge of ninja's or how they operate. She comes from a place called Tombstone Arizona."

"Can you show me where that is on a map?"

Naruto shook his head no causing Tsunade to frown. "She tried to show it to me on a map but she said that the land formations looked very strange and she couldn't find it."

"Could she have been lying?" Tsunade asked curiously. Naruto lifted his head and turned so that he was looking at her, his azure blue eyes tinted with faint traces of scarlet as he growled.

"She wasn't lying."

"She could have been-"

"She wasn't lying." Naruto said again, his voice colored with tones of agitation and fury.

"After all lying is an common enemy tactic-"

_"She wasn't lying you bitch!"_ Naruto snarled, his fingers flexing open and closed at his sides as Tsunade took a step back away from him and blinked at him through wide golden brown eyes. This was a shock. Naruto had never called her such a disrespectful name before. No matter how pissed he got at her and her bizarre mood swings. Naruto glared at her for a second before lifting his hand to rub his fingers along his right eye brow, as if his head was aching.

He took several deep breaths then let his hand fall back to his side and looked at her pleadingly. "Please Tsunade, just for once trust me on this. For once just let me-" He broke off as he blinked his eyes, looking as if he were about to cry. "Let me keep her. Let me keep something for myself..." He said the last part as he took a shuddering breath and turned away and started walking away again, keeping his head down this time and stuffing his hands in his pants pockets as he walked.

Tsunade stood there for a second or so before turning around and nearly running into Kakashi who like Sakura and the others were watching Naruto walk away with a frown on his face. "He's very taken with that _girl_ isn't he?" Tsunade said after a second or so. Kakashi glanced at her then looked back at where Naruto had been.

The blond was gone from sight now and for some odd reason that Kakashi couldn't really fathom, he felt like a total bastard after seeing Naruto's little break down. "I suppose that's one way to look at it Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade made a humming sound and looked up at him, her curiosity in the girl and Naruto's sudden strange behavior getting the best of her. "I'm assuming that you've exchanged words with the girl a time or two. Will you tell me what she's like?"

Kakashi looked at the Kage again and tried to think of what it was that Shay reminded him of when he talked to her. And was more than a little stunned to realise that Shayera Michales reminded him of only one thing.

Naruto.


	32. Chapter 32

Kakashi sat in the room after talking with Tsunade a little bit. The Kage was upset at the moment, understandably so considering what Naruto had called her earlier. Yet she didn't seem like she wanted to knock the teen through the wall like she usually did when he upset her.

No, he had seen the demon in Naruto just as clearly as she had and _knew_ that Naruto wasn't exactly feeling like himself when he had called her a bitch and told her to back off. Which was why she had told him earlier that she would allow the girl to stay in the village, only because she wasn't sure what would happen if she tried to take Shayera away from Naruto.

She was wary because she had seen a little bit of the Kyubbi staring at her earlier. And again, her actions toward Shayera at this point were perfectly understandable since she didn't want to provoke the demon inside of Naruto. But it was a curious thing to the copy nin.

The thing in question being _why_ the Kyubbi would take an interest in a fragile_ human_ girl like Shayera Michale's. Tsunade had apparently been asking herself such questions before leaving him along with the sleeping girl in the bed across from him.

The Kage had said something about consulting with someone who knew about demons and how their minds worked before she had run out of the hospital room like a scalded dog.

Kakashi sat in the cushy seat next to Shay's bed, his chin propped up in his palm, his visible eye studying the Michale's girl. She looked so damn fragile laying among the pillows and sky blue sheets. Her soft once rosy cheeks had lost some of the color in them and taken a more porcelain look, her soft pink colored lips had a pale almost powder pink look to them. Her black hair curled around her cheeks and slender shoulders giving her a more child like appearance.

All and all Kakashi was surprised by how sweet and defenseless Shayera looked. He was also just a little bit surprised that Naruto wasn't back yet, and tossing his ass out of the room so that he could sit with her for a while. But it wasn't all that strange for Naruto to disappear for a little while after breaking down a little bit like he had earlier.

He'd probably spend the next few hours running around the woods outside of the village, thinking and trying to regain some of the control that he had lost earlier before he would bother coming back to the hospital to check on Shayera.

Which left Kakashi on guard dog duty. Not exactly his idea of fun, but he would do it because he was secretly very afraid of what Naruto would do if the girl was attacked like she had been earlier.

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Naruto walked through the back door of Choza's restaurant and hedged himself into a woman so that he could enter the ladies room and see if he could catch the scent of the person who had attacked Shay. He slipped through the door unnoticed and went to stand over by the broken tiles on the wall, lifting his hand he placed it against the shattered glass and absent mindedly ran his palm along the jagged edges.

One of these pieces could have killed Shayera.

His blood simmered in his veins as his eyes scanned the mess that Shay's attacker had made. One of the dented doors attached to one of the stalls, the blood on the floor-

His eyes flashed scarlet as he dropped down to the floor right next to the blood stain and leaned over it and sniffed it, wanting to catch the scent of the one responsible for almost killing Shay. He had to filter out all of the other smells in the room, the perfume, deodorant, some of the more unpleasant smells, and growled low in his throat when he caught the sickly sweet scent of Shay's attacker.

_**Kit. What are you planning to do?**_ Kyubbi asked as it stirred in the back of his mind.

Naruto's lips curved up in a cold, menacing smile. _I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago._ He thought darkly as he got up and just as easily as he had come, slipped out of the room the back out the back door and out into the village.

**_Oh? And what exactly will that do, besides condemn you to death-_**

_Be silent Kyu. I'm not in the mood for anyone's shit right now. Shay is in the hospital because of me. What I do now is no ones fault but her attackers. _Naruto thought as he dropped the hedge and followed the scent of the one from the bathroom. Shay's attacker was wounded. He didn't know how it had happened and to be perfectly honest, he didn't care. The only thing on his mind at the moment was hunting said person down and making an example out of them.

He needed to do something to warn the villagers to leave Shay alone or by the end of the month he'd end up burying her.

**_Kit. Why the sudden need for blood letting? It isn't like you to hunt someone down simply for the sake of murdering them._**

_The person that I'm hunting harmed Shayera. My Shayera- _Naruto thought possessively as he ran down the streets as fast as he could.

**_I thought that you didn't like her kit. After all you've been venomously denying any feelings of attraction that you felt for her since day one._** Kyubbi pointed out in amusement.

_Fuck off._ Naruto mentally snarled before Kyubbi forced his body to a stop in mid step, completely freezing his muscles in place so that he couldn't move.

_What the-_

**_Listen to me kit._**

_Like hell I will! Let me go! _Naruto seethed inwardly.

**_Not until you listen to what your father has to say-_** Kyubbi said calmly, understanding his kits need to vent his wrath all too well. But knowing that it would solve nothing but placing his mate in even more danger.

Naruto forced his mind to quiet down and snapped at the demon._ Fine! But it had better be fucking good or I'm going to fuck up the next ten people that I come across to vent my frustration._

Kyubbi gave him the impression that it was amused by his thoughts. **_First of all kit. Can I take you current actions as a sign that you are genuinely considering the female as your mate?_**

_N-None of your damn business_. Naruto hissed at the demon a faint blush staining his cheeks. What did considering Shayera as his mate have to do with his current actions?

**_Everything-_** Kyubbi pointed out gently. His kit apparently was still having trouble seeing his own developing feelings towards the girl. It was vexing just how much denial the human male could put himself through when it came to his feelings for a potential mate. **_Since you obviously want the girl for yourself. _**

Naruto mentally gnashed his teeth and growled. It wasn't anyones business what he _thought_ of or _felt_ for Shayera. Those things were private and he intended to keep them that way. **_Kit, if you want_ _the girl then just claim her already. Seduce her into letting go of her past, and accepting you as her own._**

_I'm not a pet dammit. And besides... She wants to go back to her family. Her friends. Her home. I couldn't be so selfish as to keep her with me here in a place where he life will always be in danger. _Naruto thought miserably as his heart ached in his chest.

Kyubbi laughed, the sound sending chills down Naruto's spine. **_Silly kit, you know that letting her go is no longer an option for us._** _**Not after she accepted the demon in you and the violence and malevolence in me.  
**_

_But-_

**_No buts kit. You have everything that you need right in front of you. Don't waste your energy on things like revenge. Leave such distasteful tasks to me. In the mean time go back to your mate and make your move. _**

Naruto was quiet for a second or so before he sighed. Damn it. As much as he hated to admit it, Kyubbi was right. Letting Shayera go back to her family, her friends, her life; was simply no longer an option. Not since she had accepted him both as a demon container and a man.

And he was sort of worried about Shay being all alone in that lonely little room at the hospital. "Fine Kyu. You win. I'll stop."**_  
_**


	33. Chapter 33

Kakashi was asleep in the chair next to the bed when something tugged at his mind, dragging him from the depths of sleep to total awareness in the span of a second. His one eye opened and did a quick scan of the room, looking for the source of what had disturbed him. When he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary he settled back into his comfortable position and let his eye close again when it happened again, only this time he was able to identify what had woken him.

It was a sound.

A small distressed sob coming from the girl resting on the bed. Frowning he unfolded his body and stood up so that he could get closer and see what was wrong with Shay. He got as close as the rails on the bed would allow him too and noticed that Shayera's eyes were open and she had a wild look on her pretty face that reminded him of a caged animal as she looked around the room.

He made a mistake. (He would reflect on and be disgusted with himself for it later.)

And leaned over her a little bit and started to grasp the blanket covering her so that he could tug it up over her shoulders when she suddenly looked at him through wide frightened, glazed eyes and let out the most god awful blood curdling scream that he had ever heard before in his entire twenty something years of being a shinobi, causing him to stumble back from the bed with his hands over his ears in an effort to block the sound out as Shay threw off the covers and jumped the little railing and made a run for the door, dragging her IV along behind her.

As soon as he was sure that the sound had died down he dropped his hands and shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears and then started towards the door as Shay fumbled to open it. She finally managed to open it a little bit, but was unable to slip out when a large hand appeared from somewhere behind her and hit the door and pushed it closed.

She made a frightened sound and quickly ducked under the arm and scurried all the way across the room to the far corner where the window was and looked around. Kakashi frowned as he turned around and looked at the girl.

He could smell her fear. It was such a strong scent that he simply couldn't ignore it. Yet at the same time he wondered what could have triggered it.

Tsunade had put Shayera on pain meds to keep her from feeling much pain, the drugs also served the purpose of helping the girl to sleep. Kakashi couldn't recall what the drug was called, or what the side effects were though. Which meant that either Shay didn't do well with pain suppressors or she was 'sleep freaking' as Kakashi had dubbed it in his mind as he put his hands up and slowly, very slowly tried to reach her before she decided to throw herself out the window or something.

"Miss Michale's. It's me Kakashi Hatake. Naruto's friend-" Kakashi said very softly in his most soothing tone.

Shay didn't know where she was. But that was apparently the least of her problems. There was a dark figure in the room with her, and she couldn't tell who he was. He didn't sound familiar. He didn't smell familiar. For all she knew he was her attacker, out of prison and ready for another bought of his sick games.

The thought sickened her as much as it terrified her. She looked around the room again, trying to look for a way out but every time she scanned the room all she saw were chains and rust covered bars and blood spattered walls and floors.

Her breathe quickened and a whimper rose up in her throat only to be cut off by a ragged sob. She didn't want to be here! She had escaped this place once already! How had she gotten dragged back? She just didn't understand. She reached out and put her hand against the wall and grabbed the IV with her other hand and pulled it closer to her figuring if nothing else she could try to hit the man with it or even throw it at him in an effort to buy time to escape as she heard him speak again.

_"Do you know where you are?"_ His voice was unlike anything she had ever heard before. It was soft, smooth and had a strange almost hypnotic quality to it that scared the hell out of her because she just _knew _that he was trying to use it to distract her so that he could get closer to her.

It was getting harder to focus as she looked at him, all the dull colors in the room; the pale yellow of the walls blurred with the black of his clothes and the ivory of his skin and the silver of his hair and she sensed rather than felt his hand reached out to grab her and screamed again as soon as his finger tips made contact with her hand, and jerked her whole body back and slammed it against the wall behind her and was just slightly taken off guard by the sharp piercing pain in her back and shoulders.

"Stay away! Don't touch me!" She snapped as he reached out and tried to grab her again but was thwarted by a sharp slap of her hand against his.

_"Miss Michale's."_ He said her name warningly and she felt herself shiver as the temperature in the room dropped and he reached out again. Shay felt the familiar prickle of panic rising in her chest and grabbed the IV stick and tried to pick it up and hit him with it.

Kakashi's patience was wearing thin. He was trying to be nice. He was even trying to be considerate of her because she didn't seem to be reacting well to the pain meds. But that didn't mean that he was going to play with her. He was more interested in getting her back in bed and maybe calling one of the nurses to switch her onto something that she wouldn't react so badly too.

But getting close to her was difficult. Especially when she looked so fragile that he feared she might shatter into pieces if he so much as touched her the wrong way. But he sort of lost his temper when she picked up her IV and swung it at his head.

He reached out and grasped her wrist in a painful grip and squeezed until she dropped the IV and let it clatter to the floor with a soft clang before he jerked her forward so that she lost her balance and fell against him and then picked her up and carried her back to the bed and dropped her on it, uncaring of whether or not he had hurt her back or accidentally just ripped her IV out.

She started to push herself upright when he put his hand over her mouth and pushed her head back down as he reached for the call button with some difficulty since Shay was thrashing around and crying under his hand. "Shh. Calm down Miss Michale's." He said in his softest tone as he did his best not to hurt her any more than he already had while he pressed the button and asked for a nurse to come and tie Shayera down so that she couldn't hurt herself or anyone else.

He waited for ten minutes before a a small group of nurses finally came in and flicked on the lights and pushed him back away from the terrified girl and went to work on tying her down and starting a new IV.

And the entire time they were there Shay kept saying the same thing over and over again. Her words made his blood freeze in his veins and his heart skip a few beats as he listened to her cry. "Please don't let him hurt me anymore! Please, please, _please_ don't let him hurt me anymore!"


	34. Chapter 34

Kakashi didn't bother going back to sleep after the nurses left. He doubted that he would sleep very well after hearing Shay beg for someone to keep 'him' away from her. And call him crazy but he wasn't so sure that she was talking about Kakashi himself.

He tugged off his head band and walked over to the bed and studied her again now that she was once again in a drug induced sleep. He opened his Sharigan eye and reached out and very gently ran his finger tips along her cheek where he had accidentally left bruises before one of the nurses had used their chakra to heal the faint blooms of color that his finger tips had left behind. He couldn't see the markings any more, but he could see the faint pulse of the nurses chakra under Shayera's skin.

He placed his head band over her eyes and reached up above her head and flicked on one of the fluorescent lights and blinked as the sudden brightness blinded him. After a second or so of letting his eyes adjust he turned his attention back to Shayera and focused his Sharigan eye on her. He knew that he shouldn't be doing this, that it wasn't any of his business. That the girl herself wasn't _any_ of his business.

But his need to know what Naruto may have gotten himself into was simply too great to ignore.

He couldn't risk peeking into her mind in her present state, though he was sorely tempted too. It would cause more harm to her mind than good anyways. What he could do however was look her body over for any scars that might be considered questionable. The only problem that he had with this was the fact that he may have to strip her to get a good look. He figured if he found anything questionable he would be able to _gauge_ just how involved with her Naruto should get and maybe warn the boy to be _very_ careful with her.

Not that Naruto hadn't been careful with her already. He had, but there was always room for improvement.

He reached over and deftly unfastened the snap buttons on her hospital gown and carefully pulled the fabric down as far as he dared, making sure that his head band never slipped form it's place over her eyes and also making sure that her breasts were still decently covered.

He didn't want anyone walking in and freaking out and accusing him of _molesting_ the girl.

Once that was done and looked her over making sure to focus his Sharigan since the deep red of his Sharigan eye was more likely to pick up scars more easily than his normal one. He noticed several scars right away. The thin white scar across her throat, right over her jugular vein and several scars on her chest that ran along the valley of her breasts in a bizarre 'C' pattern that ran along the soft curves.

He frowned and lightly ran his fingers along the markings and knew without a doubt that these markings weren't normal. He'd seen such markings before on konoichi who had been captured and tortured by enemy nins.

_"Dear god..."_ He whispered as realisation slowly started to seep into his mind. But he wasn't finished yet and as much as he hated to go further, he needed to know what kind of sick person had taken a blade to such soft flesh. He pulled her top back up over her shoulders and snapped the buttons then closed his eyes for a second and steeled himself against what he might find then grasped the bottom half of the blanket and pulled it up until it was bunched up over her stomach leaving her open and vulnerable.

His eyes flickered to her face and he leaned over and whispered a soft, genuine apology in her ear and jerked the hem of her gown up around her hips and straitened his spine and moved towards the bottom of the bed and put one hand on the inside of her knee and gently separated her legs so that he could see better. He could make out very thin, fine puckered lines along the inside of her thighs leading to her-

He suddenly had the nearly over whelming urge to spend some time in the bathroom puking as he abruptly jerked the hem of her gown down and then pulled the blanket down so that her legs were covered again and was tucking the bed sheets around her legs and feet when the door opened and Naruto walked in and stopped, cocked his head and studied the copy nin for a second before turning his attention to Shay.

"Feeling better now?" Kakashi asked once he finally managed to beat back the urge to wretch. Naruto quietly closed the door and walked over to Shay and frowned when he saw Kakashi's head band covering her eyes.

Kakashi visibly cringed and quickly reached out and snatched the head band and put it back around his head and tied it off before Naruto could ask him why it had been there. "Yeah...better..." Naruto said in a slightly distracted tone as he reached out and put one of his hands against her forehead and gently brushed her silken hair back from her face and frowned when he noticed how red her eyes looked. "How's Shay doing?" He finally asked after a second or so of silent deliberation.

"She's in pain and _scared_ nearly out of her mind-"

"What?" Naruto asked as he turned his head to look at his former sensei, his azure blue eyes wide. Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, trying to act as if he hadn't really said anything important.

"I said, she had a reaction to her medicine earlier." Kakashi lied as he sat back down in the chair next to the bed and scooted down until he was nice and comfortable again and folded his arms over his chest.

Naruto frowned and looked her over and paused when he noted the restraints tying her down. "Is that why she's-"

"Yes-" Kakashi said curtly as he made a mental list of who he could talk too about Shayera's scars. He knew that Tsunade must have noticed the wounds, it was simply unavoidable for someone in her profession. Even when a wound was completely healed, one could sometimes still pick up the residual traces of the damage left behind.

So she might have some inkling as to what sort of weapon was used and how badly the wounds had been before they had healed though he got the impression that the wounds had been deep enough to be considered life threatening at some point in time.

He might need to speak with Sakura and the others too to make sure that no one accidentally reopened one of Shay's wounds through a catty remark or talk of work. The last thing an emotionally fragile person needed was to be constantly reminded of how they had been hurt.

He sighed and got up out of the seat and looked at the girl before giving Naruto an awkward half hearted smile from behind his mask and said. "Well, I guess that since your here now that there isn't any reason for me to stay. I'm going home now." Kakashi wasn't sure why he had said that since they both knew that he wouldn't be heading home any time soon. If at all.

"Yeah, thanks."

"No problem Naruto. Call me if you need me." Kakashi said as he brushed past the teen and slipped out of the room before teleporting himself to Tsunade's office.

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Tsunade was in the middle of research.

Her curiosity about the scars she had found on the girl that Naruto had taken an interest in, driving her to learn what she could, any way that she could and right now a huge part of the girl's mystery was the scars.

They were torture marks, Tsunade was sure of it yet for the life of her she couldn't figure out why the girl had been tortured. She stared at the series of scalpel blades and jagged knives that matched the wounds that she had found and wondered which one to start her experiment with.

She was just starting to reach for one of the silvery blades when she sensed someone standing behind her and turned her head and blinked in surprise when she saw Kakashi standing there. "Kakashi what-"

"I need to talk to you about that girl." Ah, so Kakashi had noticed too. Tsunade mused as she sighed and stepped away from the blades laid out on her desk and turned to face him.

"So you noticed too."

Kakashi nodded his head. "I wish that I hadn't." He said soberly and Tsunade made a humming sound.

"Yes I would imagine so." Tsunade said as she lifted an arm and ran her fingers through her pale blond hair.

"I'm not sure if Naruto should get too attached to that girl." Kakashi said seriously. Tsunade gave him a blank stare before asking.

"Why not?" She shouldn't have asked since she had gone over the reasons herself over a hundred times since she had discovered the scars on the girl's body.

"She's too fragile. Being in any sort of relationship with Naruto would inevitably kill her." Kakashi said. It wasn't like he had anything against Naruto. He was a good kid. Really he was. It was just that he wasn't sure that Naruto could be what Shayera needed any more than he wasn't sure that Shayera could be what Naruto needed.

He simply didn't think that they would do well together in a relationship. Especially when Shayera was still trying to heal her old wounds.


	35. Chapter 35

_"Alright then Kakashi. I get it. But if you think Naruto will give her up easily-" Tsunade said as she lifted her arm and ran her fingers though her hair again, a small sign of her agitation.  
_

_"Here is what's going to happen Kakashi. We haven't a chance in hell of taking the girl from him at this point. Naruto would rather hold her to him until he crushes her anyways-"  
_

_"Right... The old if I cant have you, I'll simply kill you thing." Kakashi said with a humorless smile as he stared at the woman.  
_

_"Right. Which is why I'm assigning you to get close to her and try to persuade her to leave Naruto of her own accord. I don't really care how you do it. Bully her, threaten her, frighten her out of her wits. Use your inhuman super former Anbu powers and make her leave him if you must." Tsunade said as she reached down and picked up one of the knives and held it up in front of her eyes._

_"Tsunade-sama, that might be going a little bit over board-"_

_"I don't care Kakashi. I refuse to sit back and watch my gaki enter into something that could kill him." Or us. Tsunade thought darkly as she stared at the sliver blade's glint under the fluorescent light._

_Kakashi closed his eye and hung his head a little bit. This wasn't a good idea. It wasn't a good idea at all. Especially since Naruto may already know about Shay's wounds. And if it didn't deter him from the girl yet, then nothing short of death would keep him from her no matter what methods Kakashi may use to try and get her to leave him. "I don't want to hurt them." Kakashi said softly, his tone forlorn and thick with sadness.  
_

_"I know. And if either of them become hurt then you can place the blame solely where it belongs. On my shoulders." _

_He would too. Tsunade could see it in the way he pushed the sadness aside and lifted his head to glare at her. His dark blue eye holding nothing but steely resolve now. Tsunade's lips curved up slightly in a sad smile. _

_Her gaki just might murder her for this. But she had to do something to save him from himself. "Do you know how you'll do it Kakashi?" _

_"No. But I know what to use as a last resort." He would dredge up the pain of her past and make it seem as if she were suffering again. He could even use his Sharigan to simulate pain that would last for weeks. Of course he would have to make things convincing. He would have to leave a few bruises and make her look as if she were being hurt again..._

_He suddenly felt the urge to puke again.  
_

_God this next few weeks were really going to tie him up in knots.  
_

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Four days later-

Shay was released from the hospital and Naruto was happy to finally have her back in the apartment again. Especially since he was sure that the people in the hospital had been trying to kill him. (He'd had a few mishaps involving a mop, a _wet_ floor and a garbage can) The moment that the nurse pushed Shay's wheel chair outside, Naruto wasted no time in scooping her up and speed walking away from the building as fast as he could without walking.

Shay squirmed in his grasp as soon as they were away form the building, trying to silently tell him that she wanted down to walk. Naruto however chuckled and shook his head no. "I don't think so Shay." He said in an amused tone as he kept his hold on her.

Now that she was free of that death trap hospital, he wanted to spend some time with her alone. His reasons for wanting this were simple. Over the past four days he had grown very comfortable with the idea of claiming Shayera as his mate.

He was so comfortable with the idea that had had planned a picnic, he had planned a very nice dinner in one of the private rooms in Choza's restaurant, he planned a movie marathon back at his place followed by some serious cuddling and maybe a little petting if Shay felt well enough to indulge him.

He would have to make sure that he didn't push her. Especially since she still didn't know him very well and her back was still wounded too.

Tsunade had said that he could take her home as long as he made sure not to let her do anything that could reopen the _still_ healing wound over her spine. Naruto took the long way around the village in an effort to keep them both from being ambushed and finally after about twenty minutes or so he finally managed to get them to training ground two which was mostly a field type of terrain and found the spot that he intended to use for the picnic.

He set her down and pulled out the scroll that he had grabbed when he had gone home earlier to shower and grab some clothes for Shay to wear out of the hospital. He'd picked out a nice short sleeved white cotton shirt with pale pink and blue flowers hanging from little green vines with little seed pearls sewn on it around the middle of the collar in little floral designs and a nice ankle length blue skirt with two rows of ruffles along the bottom. He had grabbed a pair of soft white leather shoes with small heels for her to wear too.

He pulled out the scroll and glanced at her, his azure blue eyes drinking in the sight of her. She was so beautiful to him that he was having trouble focusing on his task. "Naruto, what are you doing?"

A good question. He thought as he tore his gaze away from her and opened the scroll and used his chakra to summon the blanket, basket of food that he had fixed for this occasion, and some dishes. Once he had the basket and dishes set aside he quickly spread the blanket and started to set it up for their use then once he was done he looked up and Shay and noted the wide eyed look of surprise on her pretty face and grinned as he patted the empty space beside him.

"You've...been planning this for a while haven't you?" Shay asked with a suspicious look on her face as she edged close to him, close enough for Naruto to reach out and snake an arm around her slender waist and pull her down into his lap.

Shay squeaked as he pulled her down until she was sitting in his lap and flushed an adorable pink when she felt his crotch under her butt. "N-Naruto!"

Naruto chuckled and bowed his spine a little bit and wrapped his arms around her middle and rested his chin on one of her shoulders. "Hush Shay honey-" Naruto said in a low seductive tone that sent shivers down her spine as his breath fanned against her cheek. "Let me enjoy this before I have to let you go." He said softly as he rubbed his cheek against the silken strands of her hair.

Shay twitched and squirmed in his grasp and bit her lower lip to keep herself from laughing when his breath started to tickle the side of her neck.

Naruto was enjoying the feel of Shay's body, cradled in his arms, her back against his front. For some unknown reason that he couldn't quiet explain, this felt right to him.

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Kakashi rolled out of bed with a sickening sense of dread and went about his morning routine before showering and getting dressed and leaving his apartment to go see if he could catch Shayera alone so that he could do as his Kage had asked him too.

This was the part of the job that he hated.

The part where he had no choice but to ruin the life of an innocent girl. A _civilian_ no less.

Something that was _forbidden_ for a shinobi to do with in their own village for safety reasons. It was a taboo for a shinobi to attack a civilian. It was an even greater taboo for a shinobi to seek to place the life of a_ defenseless_s civilian, second to the life of another shinobi.

Attacking Shayera Michale's now that Tsunade had given her word that the girl could stay, even if Tsunade had been the one to order this done-

Would still be considered an act of treason against the village.

Yet it showed just how worried Tsunade was about Naruto's well being to have ordered him to go through with this damn stupid plan of hers anyways.

Kakashi swung by the hospital intending to send Naruto on a fools errand so that he could subtly start his mind games and rough the girl up a little bit, and was more than a little annoyed to find that Shayera had already been released into Naruto's care.

And after about an hour of trying to track the two teens down he was about to give up and go back home when he was walking by training ground two and spotted Naruto's semi long spiked blond hair and his navy blue and orange jacket, and the dark haired girl sitting in his lap squirming and laughing as Naruto buried his face against the side of her neck.

He stood still for about a second or so just observing them as an bizarre tightness settled in his chest. He wasn't so sure that he could do this.

He wasn't so sure that he could hurt either of them like he had been ordered too. But he couldn't disobey Tsunade either. He was stuck. And that fact made it hard for him to breathe much less think of a way out of this.

Which was why he set a limit.

He would try to force Shayera to leave his former student only _three_ times before he gave up. If by the time he was finished, Naruto and Shayera could still stand to be in the same room together, then they were meant to be and he would hand himself over to Naruto to explain his actions and let the teen kill him if that was what he wanted to do.

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Wow, Tsunade and Kakashi can play the villains pretty well.

Just a quick warning. The next few chapters are going to be a little dark and maybe even a bit disturbing because Kakashi will be using genjutsu to pull Shayera's memories of her time in captivity with her attacker to the surface.

I won't go into much detail. In fact I'll do my best to only make things vague. But Kakashi will be seen by Naruto in a compromising position and Shay...

Well you'll have to wait and see what happens.

All I can tell you is that everything will be okay, the damage done will more or less form a relationship between the three that will turn romantic later on.


	36. Chapter 36

A week after Shay's release from the hospital; Naruto was sent off on a mission leaving Shayera conveniently placed (via Tsunade's devious planning. The bitch.) in Kakashi's hands. Meaning that Shayera would be in his care for three or more days until Naruto returned.

Naturally Kaskashi was _ecstatic _over this turn of events. If beating his head on the nearest smooth surface then going out and getting _so fucking_ drunk the night before the mission could be considered ecstatic behavior.

Yet he managed to roll out of bed the next morning and go about his routine before getting dressed and packing an over night bag then heading out to Naruto's place since the teen had set one or two ground rules for letting him stay with Shay to keep an eye on her.

Apparently Naruto didn't want Shayera in an unfamiliar place.

And though he trusted Kakashi (something that the copy nin would make him regret later on) he didn't want Shay to feel uncomfortable and figured that as long as she was in Naruto's apartment and knew every hiding place. That she might feel a little more comfortable about having a total stranger staying with her.

Kakashi doubted that this was the case. But he didn't say anything since Naruto was more or less _gift_ wrapping the girl for him.

He walked up the steps to Naruto's front door with his over night bag slung over his shoulder, dangling precariously from his curled finger tips and bit back a yawn as he took the few remaining steps and stopped just outside of the door and lifted his hand to knock when the door more or less swung open and Naruto peeked out wearing nothing but a pair of his usual orange pants and blinked his sleepy blue eyes at him.

"Hn. I though it might be you." The teen said as he ran his fingers through his hap hazard blond spikes as he stepped back and let Kakashi in as he bit back a yawn. Kakashi stepped a little ways into the room and stopped when he noticed the slight figure wrapped in several blankets, laying on the floor next to the couch.

"Was I interrupting something?" Kakashi asked in a low tone, not wanting to wake the girl sleeping on the floor. Naruto stared at him for a second then grunted and shook his head.

"No. Nothing. She still wants to get to know me before she does anything with me." Kakashi looked at the teen and raised his brow at the small amount of disgust that he detected in Naruto's tone. He sounded a little disappointed that Shay hadn't wanted to do more than..._whatever_ the hell she and Naruto had been doing together.

The copy nin might have said something to let Naruto know how lucky he was to have a girl in his life that even wanted to get to know him, if not for the affectionate smile that curved the blonde's lips. The same smile that Kakashi knew was going to haunt him every night from this day forward until the day he died. Because it was going to be the last time that he saw such a soft and tender smile on Naruto's face.

Because Kakashi was going to have a hand in Shayera's self destruction. "I'll move her to the bedroom so you won't accidentally trip over her like I did last night." Naruto said as he moved over to Shay's side and dropped down to one knee and started to scoop her up when Kakashi placed a hand on his bare shoulder and stopped him.

"No. Leave her there. She looks comfortable and I don't want to wake her." Kakashi said gently as he studied the sleeping girl. She looked like she was sleeping good if the bizarre and slightly uncomfortable looking angle of her body and the way that she somehow managed to sleep through any of the little twinges was any indication.

Naruto looked up at him for a second with an unsure expression on his face. "Are you sure Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi nearly cringed when Naruto called him Kakashi-sensei. Honestly of all the things he wasn't sure he could stand to hear at this moment, Kakashi-sensei would be it. Because it was a term of affection and respect. And Kakashi soon wouldn't be worthy of either sentiment.

"I'm sure Naruto. Now go and get ready for your mission." Kakashi said softly as he squeezed Naruto's shoulder slightly then moved over to the apartment door and quietly slipped off his shoes and set down his over night bag as Naruto stood up and walked out of the room and down the hall leaving Kakashi alone with Shayera.

Kakashi waited until he was sure that Naruto was in his bedroom and the door was closed before he made his way over to the girl and knelt next to her and very subtly placed a genjutsu on her to create an opening for him to use later on.

He would wait until later tonight before he used it to peek into her mind and see what had been done to her in the first place and see if there was anything that he could use to simulate physical harm.

He laid one of his hands over her forehead and pushed some of his chakra into her and tensed a little bit when her whole body jerked then went still again before he removed his hand and moved to sit down on the couch unaware that his former student had been watching him through the slight opening in the ajar door.

What the hell did Kakashi think he was doing?


	37. Chapter 37

Naruto had known from the beginning that Shay's presence in his home and his life would cause certain people in the village to worry about his safety, and the safety of the villagers themselves. He had also known that the _second_ he snapped at Tsunade and told her that he wanted to keep Shay for himself, that he would have to _fight_ certain people for the right to keep what he already felt in his heart to be his.

And there was no mistaking such thoughts and feelings.

Shay was his.

His woman.

His friend.

_His_ _mate_.

He had been expecting trouble from some of the ones he knew. But he hadn't expected trouble from_ Kakashi_. And right off the bat too. He gritted his teeth as he watched Kakashi place a genjutsu on Shay while she slept and while he wanted nothing more than to beat the ever loving hell out of the man for what he was doing, Naruto knew that he had no choice at the moment but to let Kakashi do whatever he was doing.

Because it was the only way that he could figure out who was pulling the strings behind Kakashi.

It was also the only way to figure out what the copy nin's orders were. He watched the copy nin finish what he was doing to Shay and then move himself away from her to sit down on Naruto's couch where he calmly folded his hands in his lap and sat there for all of two seconds before the man started fidgeting like a nervous child instead of a seasoned shinobi under orders.

The small action of looking at the sleeping girl and then tugging on his fingerless gloves was telling. Naruto knew those nervous actions all too well and knew that what ever it was that Kakashi had been ordered to do, he was obviously uncomfortable and feeling guilty about it.

"Dammit Kakashi..." The teen breathed as he stepped back away from the door, silently so that Kakashi wouldn't know that he had been watching, and went about quietly getting dressed and getting his things together for the mission. Once he was finished getting dressed he grabbed a jacket out of his closet and picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder and walked out of the bed room and noticed that Kakashi immediately stopped fidgeting and laid his hand in his lap and let his body go completely rigid as Naruto walked back into the living room and silently made his way over to the door.

Kakashi didn't look at him. He didn't seem interested in anything but his hands. The bastard.

"You'll take care of Shayera while I'm gone. Right _Kakashi-sensei_?" Kakashi lifted his head and glanced over his shoulder at him as Naruto was slipping on his shoes. Had that been a subtle warning tone that he had heard in Naruto's voice? The copy nin studied the teen for a second before dismissing what he had heard as nothing more than a trick of the mind.

Or a guilty conscience.

"Yeah. I'll take good care of her Naruto." Kakashi said absent mindedly as he tried to think of anything but what he would be doing to the girl later on. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he never noticed Naruto walk over to him until he felt his hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention back to him.

Naruto stared at him for a second before giving him a smile, that to be perfectly honest, bordered on creepy. "That's good to know. Because if_ anything_ happens to her while your watching her...well, things just wouldn't end well for you." And Naruto's facial expression didn't match his tone either, which should have set off warning bells in Kakashi's head. But it didn't. Not really anyways.

Kakashi blinked in stunned disbelief as he looked at Naruto again. Had Naruto just more or less threatened to kill him?

Because that's what things sounded like.

Then again it could just be his mind playing tricks on him again. "Uh...o-okay." Kakashi replied after a second or so of hesitation, unsure of what else to say as Naruto smiled at him and curved his fingers over Kakashi's shoulder and dug his sharp finger nails into the copy nin's skin through his shirt and subtly used a little bit of his chakra to tear through the Jounin's vest and shirt and drew blood from smooth virgin skin.

Kakashi hissed in pain as he registered his skin being shredded as Naruto slowly raked his finger nails along his skin and was about to ask him what the hell he was doing when Naruto vanished into thin air right before his eyes leaving him sitting there on the couch with what could have only been a not so nice warning about what would happen if anything bad happened to the girl.


	38. Chapter 38

Kakashi knew he was in trouble before Shay even woke up.

He knew by the way Naruto's finger nails had torn through his vest, shirt and shoulder causing his entire upper arm to burn and ache painfully. Naruto had given him a warning, and Kakashi could do nothing but heed it despite his mission. As afraid as he was of Tsunade-

He feared the tightly leashed violence in _Naruto_ even more.

And rightly so, Naruto was the only person in the village who could actually _kill_ him in cold blood if he really, _really_ wanted too.

Kakashi stood in Naruto's bedroom, hovering over the bed where he had just lain Shay (because he had sort of _almost_ tripped over her) and silently debated with himself on peeking into her memories now, but chose instead to go into the bathroom down the hall and take care of his shoulder so that Shayera could sleep a little longer undisturbed.

He slipped out of the bedroom and walked down the hall to the bathroom and flicked on the lights and stepped into the white and blue tiled room and walked over to the sink and reached for the little cabinet/mirror hanging over the sink and opened it and pulled out the rubbing alcohol and some cotton balls in the plastic baggy that Naruto kept in one of the drawers under the sink. And set both on the counter top and then unzipped his vest and slowly, _very_ slowly because his shoulder was burning and hurting like a bitch; peeled the vest off of his shoulders and set it on the counter before grabbing the hem of his shirt in his hands and starting to pull it over his head and hissed when his wounded shoulder popped and caused his shoulder to hurt so badly that his eyes started to actually tear up.

He grunted and carefully pulled the bloody fabric off and set it on top of his vest on the counter and opened the plastic bag and pulled out a cotton ball and unscrewed the top on the alcohol bottle and set the lid aside as he picked up the bottle and tipped it a little bit so that he could wet the cotton ball then set it down and started dabbing at the pink and red, bloody gnashes on his shoulder while biting his lower lip.

Once that was done the rummaged around in the drawers for something to put over the wound other wise he would have to go see Sakura or Shizune or Ino just to have himself patched up. The gnashes themselves weren't bone deep, but they were definitely _muscle_ deep. The skin was raw and angry looking on the surface and deep and bloody and pink where Naruto's finger nails had torn through soft tissue.

He would need to refrain from using his shoulder for at least a week. Maybe two.

Which of course meant that he would be stuck in the village. With no work. No missions. No heavy lifting. Or training of any kind or he could really fuck up his arm. If the damn thing didn't just fall off first.

_Damn you Naruto._ Kakashi thought darkly. There were better ways to warn him off than to almost claw off his arm. Wouldn't a kick to the face or nuts pretty much achieve the same thing? He was tempted to wait on the couch until Naruto came home so that he could ask him personally but in the mean time he had work to do.

He shut the drawers and sighed when he couldn't find any bandages or band aids and was about to grab his shirt and put it back on when the door squeaked as it swung open a little bit more and he turned his head to see Shayera standing with her back turned to the door and her arms up so that her hands were over her eyes. "Uh...I'm sorry to bother you since I have no idea what your doing. But-" She said in a hesitant tone.

"It's fine Miss Michale's. I'm done here anyways." Kakashi said politely as he grabbed his shirt and vest and quickly put the lid back on the alcohol bottle and then walked over to the door and had to put one of his hands on Shay's shoulders to sort of maneuver her out of the door way.

You wouldn't expect a girl that was so fragile and delicately boned to be able to take up so much space. Yet Shayera did.

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Shay was a peculiar female. Kakashi thought as the day progressed.

Unlike most of the women that Kakashi had ever known or worked with, she was quiet, polite, well spoken, intelligent enough to carry on a decent conversation. And she loved reading.

Dear god did the girl love reading!

It had been a little over five in a half hours since she had woken up and though he had taken her for a brief trip out of the apartment to get his shoulder fixed by one of the girls. When he had walked with her back to Naruto's village the first thing he had noticed was that she made a bee line for the second spare bedroom where Naruto kept all of his books and scrolls for his ninja training and when she had come out...

She had had an whole arm full of scrolls and thick dust covered books which she then proceeded to dump on one end of the couch and then settled herself onto the floor in front of the couch and grabbed a scroll and opened it and started reading.

And now hours later he was walking out of the bedroom after cleaning and re changing his bandages and walked across the living room floor, his one dark blue eye wide in shock and awe as he practically waded through a stack of scrolls and books nearly waist deep. He stopped an foot or so from the couch and searched the mess of literature and found Shay partially buried under the mass of aged paper, looking as serene as an undisturbed lake.

Reading a _brand new book_ on the history of the shinobi nations.

Dear god, did she always read like this? And if so, how the hell did Naruto keep track of her under all that damn paper? Did he secretly put a bell around that pretty little neck of hers? Is that how he kept track of her? "Uhhh...Marco?"

Shay didn't say anything remotely close to 'Polo'.

Shay didn't say anything at all. She just sat there reading while he sort of stepped over and kicked aside every scroll and book in his way and cleared out a little trail over to the couch and sat down on the end farthest from her and sat down and started to pull out his Itcha-Itcha book when he caught her turn her head to look...

At his book.

_Oh hell no._

If she got her dainty little hands on it he may never see it again! "Um. How much reading material do you have left?" He asked stupidly as Shay looked at the orange cover of his book. He moved his hand slightly to the left and paled a little bit under his mask when her dark green eyes followed the brightly colored cover.

"This is the last scrap of reading material Naruto has." Shay said as she wondered what sort of informative things were inside of Hatake-san's little orange book.

"O-Oh. I see..." Kakashi said nervously as he started to panic a little bit.

"What sort of book do you-"

"It's porn! Not something that an sixteen year old girl would be interested in!" Kakashi blurted out in an effort to save his precious book from being snatched from him. Shay didn't say anything for the longest time and finally after several minutes, just when Kakashi started to think it was safe to assume that she had no interest in his book and started to relax he saw her close the thick book in her lap and heard her say something that he _never_ wanted to hear again in all the days of his life.

"Gimme."

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A few hours later-

Kakashi had just finished clearing all of the books and scrolls out of the living room with Shayera's help.

Not that she was very much help. Not with her nose in _his_ precious book.

And had just sat down to watch some TV, secretly hoping that Miss Michale's would take an interest on whatever was on and give him back his porn book. However instead of giving back his book as he had planned, she simply ignored the TV and read, finished, and re read his Itcha-Itcha book five times.

Five!

Before wrinkling her little nose and quietly closing it and handing it back to him then saying. "I've written better smut than that. I've read better too. Whoever the author is, he hasn't got very much creativity."

To which Kakashi could only stare at her and gape at her from behind his mask as a faint blush crept up his neck to his face. The sheer audacity of the girl was astonishing. Really it was. First she steals his book from him. Then she read it five times (Each time slower than the last) and kept him from his Itcha-Itcha fix. Then she had the guts to say that it was nothing special!

Naruto and Shayera deserved each other. The-The-

_Awesome porn book bashers! _

Kakashi's hackles raised over Shayera's comment he growled and said. "How dare you say such a thing about Jiraiya-sama's work! The man is a book writing genus! His books are beloved for their creativity, their characters_, and their plot lines!" _

Shayera looked at him and gave him a sweet smile then patted him on the cheek as if he were a child and said. "Ohhhh. It's so cute to see someone defending what they love-" That sounded strangely like an insult to him. "But if you really think that...then you aren't a very creative person either. I bet your lousy in the bedroom." She said with a trace of pity in her voice as Kakashi stared at her red faced, open mouthed and stunned speechless.

Okay, now that- Was an insult.

A thousand different scathing remarks rose up in his mind and it was on the tip of his tongue to say them all just to shut her up when he snapped out of his funk and hissed. "What the fuck do you mean I'm lousy in the bedroom?" His male pride deeply wounded by her remark. He was fantastic at sex!

Always had been. Always would be.

"Well, if you think that mindless drivel is genus then there is definitely something wrong with the creative part of your mind. I myself can come up with at least a hundred different ways to make even the first few pages better-"

"It's not mindless drivel-" Kakashi snapped.

Shayera gave him a pitying look and grabbed the book out of his lap and opened it and started reading out loud. "It felt so good. The deep slow glide of her lover's cock into her body-" She stopped flipped a few pages then read again. "She couldn't help herself. He was hard and aching, his cock sticking out of his pants. And she was already on her knees anyways-" She stopped and flipped a few more pages and started reading again. "Ah. There. There. Do it again Kenichi. She cried as Kenichi lifted her up and withdrew his dick almost completely before slamming it back into her and groaning. Oh god Momo, I think I'm cumming-" She stopped reading again and closed the book.

"See. Nothing but mindless drivel. If your going to start a book series then it makes more sense to build up to the sex and let the reader see the chemistry between the characters first. This is nothing but ill explained, and even more bizarre little clips of sex and relationships that don't have a chance in hell of lasting."

Kakashi was almost in tears by this point. He simply couldn't think of a remark scathing enough to make her stop talking. He kept thinking; What does she know? What makes her such an expert?

And finally after several seconds of total silence he decided to challenge her to prove her words. "Okay little miss hot stuff. If your such an expert on these things then prove it. Tell me what you would have the characters in the book do then explain in _detail_ how the sex scenes should be."

Shayera gave him a sweet smile. Oh the stupid, stupid man.

He had risen to her bait.

She sat down on the couch next to him and after a second of strenuous thinking started to speak a fairly descent story plot forming in her mind more and more as she spoke. An hour passed. Then two and by the time she was done she chanced a glance at Kakashi who had a cushion in his lap and a faint flush across his cheeks as he stared at her wide eyed with a shell shocked look on his face as he lifted one hand and sort of fumbled around until he had his hand on the arm rest and he was slowly and awkwardly pulling himself up off of the couch while still holding the cushion in his lap and stuttered.

"I-I'm a- I n-n-need- A-A Cold- V-Very c-cold-"

"Shower?"

Kakashi nodded his head soberly and she gave him a sunny smile. "Okay. Have fun." She said brightly as she picked up the TV remote and shifted her attention away from him so that he could run out of the room as if his pants were on fire.


	39. Chapter 39

Kakashi's first day with Shayera was wrapping up and though he hated to admit it (even to himself) he sort of liked the girl.

Not like he liked Naruto or Sakura or everyone of his other friends. No, his feeling of 'like' towards Shayera Michale's were entirely different. Sort of a cross between begrudging respect and something a little more harder to identify. He knew that she had more or less earned his respect earlier when she had won her argument with him about the Itcha-Itcha books. And after hearing her plot for a nice smutty story, he was _almost_ totally turned off of the Itcha-Itcha series completely.

Almost being the operative word.

Which was why he kept scowling at her when she wasn't looking. She had just ruined one of his favorite stories of all time, and though that didn't particularly bother him. The fact that she had won her argument was part of the reason that he kept scowling at her. That and he was trying to work out some last minute details in his mind concerning his mission.

He didn't want to ruin this girl.

He didn't want to dredge up painful memories from her past and make her relive them. Because he was starting to see what it was about her that Naruto liked so much.

She was warm. Kind. Genuinely caring.

She was brave enough to argue with him. Something that sort of made him a little leery of her since there was literally only a few people in the village that would have dared to argue with him about anything. Mostly because everyone else knew about his reputation as a former Anbu. And a cold blooded killer.

He could count the number of people brave enough to argue with him despite his reputation as a cold blooded killer on his hands.

She was fierce. Smart. And strong...

At least he got the impression that she was strong. Though he wasn't entirely sure just _how strong_ she was-

It was completely dark outside now and he was started to unwind after watching and talking with the girl all day. His mind easily shifting from relaxed, to the task at hand. He still had a mission to do after all.

Shay sat on the floor in front of the couch with her knees drawn up to her chest looking drowsy when he finally spoke up, his anxiousness getting the best of him. "Miss Michale's, you look like your about to fall asleep. Why don't you go get ready for bed before you doze off."

Shay looked at him and blinked, her eyes burning slightly as she frowned at him. Her mind slipping into neutral before her body even caught up to it. "But I'm not tired-"

It was a lie of course. She just didn't want to go to sleep with a strange man in the apartment with her. Even if said man was Naruto's friend. She didn't know Hatake-san enough to even bother to get ready for bed.

She would rather just sit here in the floor and let the hard wood floors hurt her back and her butt to the point where she would be so uncomfortable that she would never be able to sleep again.

She was stalling.

Kakashi could tell by the way that she was acting that she was stalling. He figured that he would have some trouble with her considering his suspicions about her past, and while he knew that nothing that he could _say_ or _do_ would put her completely at ease around him. He still had a mission to do and it would be easier for them both if she would go and slip onto her PJ's so that he wouldn't have to strip and redress her himself once he was done with her tonight.

But if she decided to make things harder for him, then he would have no choice but to do those things himself once he was done later.

"Yes you are. I can see it. Go on and get ready for bed." He said gently.

His job tonight was simple.

All he had to do is peek into her mind and see what had been done to her and determine what to do after that. Nothing more.

He didn't have to touch her, or leave marks on her body.

In fact he had already decided that depending on what he found in her mind-

He would probably just call the mission a bust and leave the girl alone. Which was why he was saying a silent prayer to the gods ten minutes later when Shayera finally got up and tiredly walked back to the bedroom and started getting ready for bed.

It was finally time.

He sat back on the couch and closed his blue eye and took several deep, calming breathes to calm his nerves and then stood up and silently walked back to the bedroom and opened the door as Shay was buttoning up her night overly large sapphire blue night shirt. She never heard him.

Never even knew that he was there when he activated the genjutsu and her eyes rolled back in her head as her legs gave out and he caught her around the waist as she fell.

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Okay-

The moment of truth has arrived.

A quick word for my dearest kittens.

The next chapter will be as short as humanly possible because he'll be peeking into her mind. I told you before that I'd keep it as un detailed as I can. Which means detailed descriptions of the man that attacked her and maybe some detail about how she got her wounds and the room that she was kept in.

I will _not_ write about the darker parts. Since those will be offensive on so many levels.

Which means that the next chapter will probably be _400_ words or _less_.


	40. Chapter 40

Kakashi hovered next to the bed, his expression blank as he opened up the link between Shayera's mind and his own and allowed her memories to seep into his mind. He could see little bits and pieces of her childhood. Her interactions with her friends and her family.

There was nothing terribly useful there which meant that he had to dig deeper.

He burrowed his conscious mind deeper into her own and found an jet black door hovering, suspended in thin air right in front of him and reached for it.

The second that his palm touched the black surface the door swung open violently and a large hand reached out and grasped his shirt front before he could react and jerked him inside-

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_Kakashi stumbled a little bit then caught himself and stood very still, masking his presence so that he could simply observe the happenings from the far corner of the room. _

_It was dark. _

_But not totally dark. So far Kakashi could make out one small light in the middle of the room, swaying back and forth over a narrow blood stained metal table that looked suspiciously like a morgue gurney. There were wide leather cuffs along the sides and one at the top and two more at the bottom and there was a plastic bucket sitting right next to the metal table, full of a thick scarlet liquid that Kakashi knew could only be blood. _

_He blinked and looked away from the table and scanned the room and saw chains hanging from the ceiling with big thick hooks at the tips of them. Against the wall to his right were whips, knives, axes, scalpels, spools of wire and rope and rusted nails and screws. _

_The one light flickered a little bit and Kakashi turned his head as he heard the sound of heavy foot falls outside of the door. _

_The door swung open and a male about six foot three with dark hair and dark golden tan skin, wearing an bloody white apron and carrying something small wrapped in a white sheet. The man walked in as the thing in the sheet started to squirm and make almost shrill distressed sounds. _

_He gripped the thing tighter and walked over to the metal table and slammed the thing down on the table filling the room with a sickening cracking sound as the thing wrapped in the sheet went still and quiet as the man reached inside of the sheet and pulled out a small hand attached to a small, thin, delicate looking arm and secured it in place with one of the thick leather bands before moving to do the same with the other small hand that he extracted before pulling the corners of the sheet back revealing curly black shoulder length hair and a beautiful little pixie like face with impossibly wide and dazed dark, dark green teary eyes._

_There was blood slipping out of the corner of her mouth as she blinked several times. No doubt trying to regain her senses as the man pulled the sheet back further and trailed his fingers along smooth unblemished naked skin. _

_"You are beautiful." The man murmered as he ran his index finger in a circle around a small soft pink nipple. _

_The girl jerked under his hand and growled. _

_"Your ugly." _

_The man's hand shot out and connected with the side of the girl's face, the slap forcing her head violently to the side. Almost snapping her neck from the looks of her pained expression as the man reached out and grasped a hand full of her hair and pulled her head back around so that she was facing him again as she gritted her teeth and tried to hold back her tears. _

_"I've killed little girls for saying that to me." _

_"Then kill me and get it over with." The girl hissed, her eyes smoldering with hatred and rage. She knew what happened to little girls taken far from home by strangers, knew that nothing good would happen to her here. And she would rather be dead. _

_Kakashi felt her animosity, her hatred and rage and was nearly felled by it. _

_She'd had such a strong will. It was heart breaking to know that it was about to be ground to dust because of the perversion of this man. _

_He could feel the man's amusement as keenly as he could feel her. Could almost read the sick thoughts in his head. He could see that Shayera knew what was going to happen to her. And as much as it pained him too-_

_He served as a witness to her pain and humiliation. _

_He watched every sick thing that was done to her from the rapes to the cutting and the beatings, each one more severe than the last because she continued to defy the one who was trying to break her until finally she escaped and he found himself walking with her in the rain wounded and scared and alone and he couldn't help himself from saying over and over again despite the fact that she couldn't hear him. _

_"Just a few more steps. You can take just a few more steps and then it'll all be over- You'll be okay. Someone will find you-"_

_He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince. Himself or her. But in the end he had been right. _

_Someone had found her and he stood there in the rain watching as a large metal vehicle came up to her and some people piled out of the back wearing white with gold symbols sewn into the sleeves and shirt fronts did he finally realise that the place that he was seeing in her mind was unlike any village or town that he had ever seen before.  
_


	41. Chapter 41

Kakashi broke the connection between his mind and Shayera's after taking the time to memorize everything that he had seen in her mind. The glass, and stone buildings that stood so tell that their tops couldn't be seen. The metal vehicles similar to the one that the wounded child Shayera had been when she had escaped, was loaded into by the people in took the time to walk along the glittering stone and glass world, noting the different way that people dressed and talked and conducted business.

Both legal and illegal.

He took the time to check out her memories of her school, the history, the customs.

The dynamics between families trying to raise their children.

Everything was so very different from the leaf village. Even the laws and the people that enforced them.

Once he was sure that he had seen everything that there was to see, he released the genjutsu and opened his eyes. One a sad dark blue and the other an angry scarlet red. His mission was a bust. There was nothing that he would dare to use on her. Tsunade would just have to get over her worry or sit down and talk to Naruto about things like an adult.

Still there was something that he now knew for sure. Something that he was sure that Tsunade would understand. And that was that Shayera Michale's was not from any foreign nation in all of their world. She was from a place where people like them did not _exist_.

A whole new _world_.

If he wasn't such an open minded person, the concept would have been unbelievably hard to grasp. Yet here was the proof of it all, laying sound asleep on Naruto's bed. Alive and warm...

He stared down at Shayera in silence for several minutes before grabbing the covers and pulling them up over her body and reaching out and hesitantly smoothing her dark hair back from her face all the while marveling at how amazing Shayera was.

How strong and pleasant she was despite her past pain and suffering. How much strength it must have taken for her to have survived such horrors as a child. Thirteen was such a tender age to have been stripped of your innocence and dignity. To have been beaten down, cut up, and left in a bloody room to die.

It was certainly much too young to have seen hell and _clawed_ your way back from the depths.

Yet that was exactly what she had done. And what made it all the more impressive was the fact that Shayera wasn't a shinobi. She hadn't been trained to fight, or handle such torture. And she had still survived.

And she had done it all by herself.

It was awe inspiring really.

He straitened his spine and slipped out of the room and walked down the hall to the living room and flopped down on the couch to think over what he should do now.


	42. Chapter 42

Naruto was distracted while he worked.

He didn't hear Tenzou give the word to ambush the enemy nin's. He didn't see Sakura get backed into a corner by three rogue nins.

He did however take all the fun out of the fight by using his shadow clones to subdue the enemy before Sakura came stomping up to him and punched him in the face before grabbing him by the front of his shirt and demanding to know just what the hell his problem was.

He didn't answer her though. Because if she and the others knew just how distracted he was when he was away from Shayera, she would be classified a threat to their people and would be killed by the council and there would be nothing that he could do to save her.

So he kept quiet and merely snapped at Sakura that he had a _bad_ fucking headache and that was why he had been so distracted. Sakura looked like she didn't believe him for a second or so before sighing and saying.

"Lets hurry up and drag these guys back to the village and go home."

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Day two of his time watching Shayera started at about ten in the morning when she first woke up.

He recalled it being ten or somewhere there about because he had been asleep when she had tip toed her way down the hall to the living room and found him stretched out on his back on the couch, his legs dangling over the arm rest on the other side, one arm was flung up over his eyes since he wasn't wearing his headband and he had his face mask removed so that he could breathe better as he slept.

His lips parted slightly as he softly snored, his other hand rested loosely on his stomach over his open Itcha-Itcha book. He wasn't sure what it was exactly what it was that woke him up. He knew that the damn girl didn't make a sound when she moved or she never would have been able to get so close to him.

Maybe it had been her scent that had jolted him awake.

She had a peculiar scent.

Pleasant. Sweet.

But peculiar all the same.

It was this strange mix of floral with a hint of almond and cream to it. One whiff of that scent and he had been wide awake and alert as he subtly shifted the arm over his eye so that he could see her without giving himself away. At first he felt a little panicked that she could see his face but that soon died down as she gently removed his book from under his hand and marked the page so that his place wasn't lost then closed it and set it on the coffee table then walked back out of the room and came back a few seconds later with a thin blanket in hand and spread it over him and then walked into the kitchen.

Not in the least interested in his unmasked face.

He wasn't sure if he was happy about more or less being ignored or not since he was used to women fawning over him whether they could see his face or not.

He yawned and pushed himself upright as she started pulling out some things to make something for breakfast. The soft clatter of a glass bowel on the counter followed by a 'whisping' sound urged him to get up a little bit _faster_ if he wanted to be able to eat anything in a few minutes.

He got up and shuffled his feet slightly as he walked (he did it so that he could maintain the element of surprise when he walked, the slight motion kept him from making too much sound) he moved to stand behind her as she pulled an unbroken egg from the carton that she had pulled out of the fridge and was about to crack it open when she seemed to realise that he was standing there and turned her head slightly to look at him as he cocked his head a little bit.

The scene before him was a cozy one.

The sort of scene that a man could get used too. The scene of pretty young woman standing in the kitchen fixing something for her man. It was the type of thing that Naruto would enjoy. Hell it was the type of thing that _he_ would enjoy one day.

But right now it seemed very out of place to him.

"Did I wake you up?" She asked as she looked at him.

He must have looked a sight to her with his silver hair sticking up in all directions and his face uncovered and unshaven. The long sleeves on his shirt rolled up around his elbows and his gloves and vest gone. He covered his mouth with one hand to stifle a yawn and keep her from seeing his fang like canine teeth as he shook his head no.

He didn't really see any need to let her know that he had been able to smell her so strongly that it had woken him. She would just find that creepy. He dropped his hand back to his side and blinked his mis matched eyes at her before answering. "No. You didn't wake me. I...had a strange dream that a strange woman was about to make me breakfast and decided to see if it was about to come true."

She gave him a funny look then asked. "Am I not supposed to fix you something for breakfast?" She sounded a mite offended to him. But really it couldn't be helped. He was a ninja after all and couldn't eat food that a strange person prepared for him. There were too many things that could happen if he did.

"Well...I suppose I could let the rule slide if you tell me everything that you know about poison."

Shay frowned. She didn't really know anything about poison or drugs aside from the basics. Rat poison had faint traces of arsenic in it and could kill in a big enough dose. Bleach was a heavily corrosive acid that ate away at your organs as it shut them down.

Stuff with lime in it could decompose the human body exct...

"I know that bleach and rat poison are bad for your health and lime-" She stopped talking when she caught the peculiar look on his face and visibly cringed a little bit before saying. "I wasn't supposed to say that was I?"

He shook his head no and she sighed and looked back at the pans and eggs and other things that she had pulled out and picked up the egg that she had been holding earlier and handed it to him as she walked by him out of the kitchen and went into the living room to sit down and sulk.

Leaving Kakashi alone to fix their food in peace.


	43. Chapter 43

Breakfast was a quiet little affair where Kakashi spent his time inhaling his food and studying Shayera as she ate.

After peeking into her mind last night he had determined several things about her.

1) She was very strong for a civilian girl.

2) She had over come her painful past to the best of her ability and was still determined not to let it stop her from living her life.

3) She was a genuinely _likable_ person. A little bit shy. A little bit awkward. A little bit warmer than one would expect considering her past.

But genuinely likable never the less.

4) She was intelligent enough to assimilate herself into their world without much trouble. Which was good since he got the feeling that Naruto was planning to keep her in the village with him for the rest of her days.

But most of all, she liked Naruto.

She didn't care that he was a demon container. Or a wolf in sheep's clothing. (Like Kakashi knew he was.) She could easily over look Naruto's oddities if it meant being with him just a little bit longer. It was such a sweet and innocent notion that Kakashi thought it almost child like.

He had just finished his food and was sitting back to watch her a little more when he sensed a familiar chakra outside and turned his head just in time for Naruto's front door to swing open and the blond haired teen to step inside and look around the living room before he caught sight of Kakashi sitting at the dining room table across from Shay and made his way over to them, shrugging off his back pack and his jacket as he moved until he was standing right beside the table, in between Kakashi and Shayera.

He gave Kakashi a cold calculating look that appeared totally out of place on the normally chipper blonde's face before he smiled at Kakashi. "Yo. Any trouble?"

Kakashi blinked at Naruto wondering why he was home so soon when he had just left yesterday. After all hadn't Tsunade said that his mission would keep him away for at least a week? "No." The copy nin said in a short clipped almost rude tone.

"No trouble."

Naruto gave him a skeptical look, his expression practically screaming _'I don't believe you.'_ Not that the copy nin cared. Just because his mission had been a bust didn't mean that he had to say anything about it. Even if he was as guilty as sin.

"How was your mission Naruto?" Shay asked in an uneasy tone as she looked from the blond to Kakashi then back again with a wary look on her face. Naruto's cold azure blue eyes flickered to her and Kakashi could see the change in them instantly.

There was just something in the way he looked at her that caught Kakashi off guard. He had such a warm and loving expression on his face that Kakashi knew without a doubt that Naruto was slowly but surely falling in love with Shay.

He sat there for a second or so longer as his heart clenched painfully in his chest as he watched Naruto lean down and put one hand on one of Shayera's shoulders and nuzzle her cheek before kissing her and whispering something that made her blush.

Unable to sit still and watch the lovey dovey scene any longer he stood up and muttered something about needing to be some where and walked away from the table and grabbed his things and left the apartment without so much as another word.

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Okay, here is this chapter. I know it's short but I'm still sort of building up to the relationship.

The next chapter will start with a one month time skip.

And Kakashi has been out of the village on a two week mission gone terribly awry. Tsunade still has one last thing to do before she leaves Naruto and Shay alone and she isn't above using a mentally and physically exhausted copy nin to get it done.

There will be a lemon in the next chapter.

The sex will be consensual.

And it will be the catalyst that develops kakashi and Shay's relationship even more.


	44. Chapter 44

Okay kittens- I'm having trouble with the next chapter of Heirs. So I thought I'd take a break and write something else to see if that helps.

I promised someone that I would explain the Comfort Decree-

Because shinobi live lives that can often time be brief, due to the blood shed. Some often fall prey to psychotic breaks and commit suicide while others are _ruined_ for life.

The comfort idea is a way to establish deeper bonds with their fellow shinobi and even deepen their bonds with the people that they sacrifice so much of themselves to protect. There are two kinds of comfort.

Physical.

And Emotional.

Now the idea behind the decree was that there was at one point a staggering number of shinobi who had self destructed and after so long the Hokage decided that certain steps needed to be taken to prevent the loss of even more lives.

So the Decree was made stating that if a shinobi returned from a particularly bad mission and needed either physical or emotional comfort then they could go to someones home and _ask_ them. The one being asked has the right to _choose _how to serve the shinobi's needs.

But the shinobi can't _touch_ them or _leave_ until one of those needs are met.

I'm not sure if I explained this very well, but at least you get a vague idea.

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_Kakashi was a mess. _

_His face hair, and clothes were stained crimson from his mission as Tsunade sighed and sat back in her chair as he finished his report. "God. Five Jounin lost-" Tsunade said in irritation as she ran her fingers through her long silken hair. "And on a simple A rank mission." _

_Kakashi muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "I'm sorry Hokage-sama..." Tsunade looked at him and frowned a little bit. He looked stressed. More so than usual but that was to be expected since he had accidentally killed one of their own while trying to reach the enemy. _

_But in his defense he hadn't realised that he was stuck in a genjutsu that distorted his senses to the point where he hadn't been able to tell friend from foe until it was too late. It was horrible. But it did happen from time to time even with the best shinobi. _

_"Don't apologise Kakashi. I know that you didn't mean to kill that man..." Not that knowing that would comfort the man's family any. Tsunade thought as she looked at the copy nin. His head was hung so that his eyes were trained on the floor and she had noted that he had developed the sudden habit of flinching every time her chair squeaked._

_He needs to be taken care of. She thought wearily as she mentally went through a list of people who could see to him and almost banged her head on her desk when the only person who came to mind was Naruto. _

_But she doubted that the blond would service Kakashi in the way that he needed. Especially with that girl, Shayera living with him. _

_It had been a month since the girl had been found by the blond haired demon container, and brought to the village. A month since Naruto had developed an romantic interest in the girl and started wooing her. A month since Tsunade ordered Kakashi to drive a wedge between the two and failed. _

_A month since she had started thinking that maybe it would be okay for Naruto to have someone for himself. God knew that the boy needed love and affection in the worst way. _

_And Tsunade had noticed that Naruto had become a much better fighter now that he had something to lose. Tsunade sighed again and looked at the copy nin. He was exhausted, his mind not quite running the way that it should. _

_He was vulnerable. _

_And such vulnerability could get him killed. _

_There's no helping it. Maybe Naruto won't turn him down flat... "You did very well Kakashi. Before you go home I want you to swing by Naruto's and see him." _

_Kakashi lifted his head and started to shake his head no. He didn't want to go there! If he did he would feel need and Naruto would get hurt! "Kakashi, this is an order form your Kage. Go see Naruto and let him take care of you." Tsunade said firmly and watched him hang his head again and fist his hands at his sides for a moment before disappearing in a small whirl wind of leaves. _

_He felt numb. The center of his chest felt cold, and still. Almost as if his heart wasn't beating. And he could feel the faint tremors running along his spine. He was cover in blood, his enemies and his comrade's. The deep crimson staining his clothes and skin as surly as it stained his soul. _

_He didn't want to go to Naruto's. But he felt so cold-_

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Naruto had just gotten home for the day and walked into the apartment and looked around as he pulled his head band off and set it on the small table beside his front door before unzipping his jacket and shrugging it off as he looked for any traces of his room mate. He walked into the room and did another quick sweep_, _noting that the dishes were clean and the floors had been swept and mopped until the hard wood floors shone like the light bouncing off of Gai's 'youthful' smile when he did the good guy pose.

_She's been busy_. Naruto mused as he moved through the apartment one room at a time until he reached the bedroom and quietly pushed the door open and snorted in amusement when he saw Shay laying on her side on his bed, her dark hair fanning across the pillow, one hand was tucked under her cheek and she had dirt smudges on her other cheek and across the bridge of her nose.

She was wearing the emerald, mint, rose and cream colored off the shoulder sweater that he had gotten for her for her a week ago while he had been out on a mission. He'd bought the sweater as an sort of apology to Shay for having to leave her in the hands of Gai and Lee along with a pair of skin tight short shorts that showed off the curve of her bottom rather nicely.

He stood there watching her sleep for a second before reaching into the pouch at his hip and pulling out the small gift that he had managed to get for her this time and placed the small red heart shaped box on the pillow next to her head after opening it so that the first thing that she saw when she woke up would be the shimmering emerald oval shaped cluster surrounded by small diamonds set in a white gold band.

**_You have good taste kit._** Kyubbi said in a whispered tone as Naruto slowly and quietly made his way back to the door and quietly slipped out of the room so that she could sleep.

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Kakashi stood outside of the apartment, his hands so tightly fisted at his sides that his finger nails had bitten into his skin through his gloves causing his palms to bleed as he trembled slightly. He could hear Naruto moving around inside, knew that he was warm and for a moment hoped that he would share his warmth with him.

He just felt so damn cold, as if he wasn't alive any more.

He hated it.

He hated himself for being so _weak_ as to come to one of his former students, one of his precious people, for help. He didn't want to _dirty_ Naruto. He'd rather bite off his own tongue and bleed to death first. But now that he was here, standing just outside; he found that he no longer had any strength left to leave. No matter how much he might want too. He couldn't seem to force his legs to move.

He waited for another second or so, silently trying to will himself to turn away and leave. Silently telling himself that this wasn't Naruto's burden, and that he didn't want to cause any more damage to anyone dear to him.

He couldn't take the blood on his hands anymore! He made a low almost whimpering sound and knocked on the door and waited, knowing that the moment Naruto answered the door he would have to ask him the hardest question of his life.

_Will you comfort me? _

The words were so simple, yet could do so much damage. Kakashi wasn't looking forward to this, but for once in his life since the loss of his former team mates- He was scared to death of being alone. His heart thudded against his ribs and he held his breath and a moment later...the door swung open and Naruto filled the doorway, his eyes wide and questioning as he looked the copy nin over.

Kakashi stared at him for a second then said in a weak, shaky voice. "Will you comfort me?" He blinked his dark blue eye and felt his eye start to burn with unshed tears as Naruto's expression blanked and he stepped back to allow Kakashi inside.

Kakashi's heart nearly stopped and he took a deep shuttering breath and lowered his head as he stepped across the thresh hold into the apartment and let Naruto quietly close the door behind him.

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Shay awoke to the sound of softly spoken voices coming from the living room and pushed herself upright in bed and paused when she saw the ring in the little heart shaped box and smiled as she picked it up and looked it over. It was a beautiful piece. The emeralds a sparkling flawless grass green surrounded by flawless looking little white diamonds in a white gold setting.

_That boy is hopeless._ She thought in amusement as she pulled the ring out of the box and was about to slip in on when she saw that there was a little heart scratched into the metal on the inside of the band. She blushed a little bit and slipped the ring on and then got out of bed and went to investigate who was there to visit with Naruto.

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"What do you need done, Kakashi?" Naruto asked as he pushed Kakashi down onto the couch. Naruto didn't know why he bothered asking. Knowing Kakashi like he did he knew that the man wasn't one for touchy feely emotional bullshit. No, there could only be one reason that the copy nin would come to him and ask for comfort.

Sex.

It was the _only_ thing that the copy nin would need at a time like this. The only thing that would help him feel like himself again. And though Naruto couldn't turn him away. He didn't think he could take care of him in the way he needed him too either.

And since Kakashi couldn't be turned away, then if Naruto said no; then taking care of the copy nin would become Shay's burden. And Naruto didn't want that. He didn't want to put Shay in the position where she could get hurt.

Because he knew that Kakashi wasn't in his right state of mind and wouldn't be able to be gentle with her anymore than he'd be able to be gentle with him. Naruto chewed on his bottom lip for a second and waited for Kakashi to say something. Anything. When Naruto sighed and ran his fingers through his blond hair in frustration. This was a clear case of damned if you do and damned if you don't.

_Christ what a mess._ He thought as he looked at the copy nin again, the man was tense.

Despite his current state of mind, he was tense, the muscles in his body tightly coiled like a wolf ready to pounce on a fat rabbit. Kakashi was just waiting for him to give the word_ then_ he'd jump him. "Look Kakashi I-" Naruto started to say that he couldn't help him the way he needed him too when the copy nin lifted his head and looked at Naruto through a slightly narrowed blue eye.

Naruto shivered a little bit as the copy nin gave him an unblinking stare and couldn't help noticing how piercing and predatory the stare appeared to be. He was about to finish what he had been about to say when the copy nin ducked his head as Naruto heard light foot steps coming from the hall way and looked over just in time to see Shay standing in the hall way looking at them, her dark hair tousled, her sweater had been pulled down a little bit so that the hem covered her shorts and Naruto could see that she was wearing the gift that he had left for her.

He would have usually smiled and told her that it looked nice on her, or that the color matched her eyes, but he was feeling too stressed right now to bother complimenting her. Instead he felt the strong urge to drag her from the room and lock her in his spare room until Kakashi was dealt with.

"Is everything okay Naruto?" Shay asked as she stared at the silver haired man sitting on the couch with his head down. And the sickly sweet smell of blood in the air made her stomach lurch dangerously.

Naruto was about to tell her to go lock herself in his room or something when he felt Kakashi's chakra spike a little bit, the oppressive feel of the copy nin's chakra bearing down on him making him shut his mouth and bite his tongue as he turned his head to look at the man.

Again Kakashi's head was up and he was staring, but this time was different. Because this time the copy nin's unblinking stare was trained on Shay. Naruto's anxiety spiked through the roof and he started to move across the room to place himself between the copy nin and Shay when he caught a blur of movement out of the corner of his eye a second before something hard slammed into his stomach just below his ribs, forcing all of the air from his lungs and was vaguely aware of Shay screaming.

He doubled over a little bit and looked up, his heart hammering in his chest as apprehension mixed with fear as he saw Kakashi standing a scant inch from him, and knew that Kakashi had just hit him, he felt the man's knuckles grinding into his skin for a second before he lifted his other hand and jerked up his headband and opened his scarred eye and Naruto's eyes widened as he tried to tell Kakashi no.

He knew that the man needed comfort, but he couldn't let him knock him out and use Shay. Fear and rage warred in his chest and he managed to hiss from between gritted teeth. "Don't. Do. It..."

Kakashi's sharigan activated the little marks around the pupil spinning like mad, threatening to drag Naruto under as Kakashi said very softly. "I'll let her choose. If she says no then I _won't_ touch her." Naruto heard the determination in the copy nin's voice and thought that it was a small comfort, knowing that even now Kakashi would promise him that. And he understood why he was knocking him out too.

It was to spare Naruto the heartache of having to sit in the living room and listen to Kakashi fuck Shay if she said yes.

His vision blurred and he started to go down, his mind already slipping into unconsciousness as he fell forward against the copy nin who grabbed him by his shirt and slowly lowered him to the floor before turning to face Shay who was frozen in place where she stood, her face pale, and her eyes wide.

"W-Why did you-"

"We need to talk..." Kakashi said softly as he stepped over Naruto and sort of_ stalked_ over to Shay intending to explain everything and give her the choice of comforting him since Naruto wasn't willing too. His mind already going through ways to keep her from feeling any pain since he knew that he wasn't in the present state of mind to give pleasure before taking his own. "Has Naruto told you anything about the comfort decree that the Hokage issued several years ago? Has he told you what it means?"

Shay blinked at him and slowly shook her head no. Kakashi didn't bother mincing words or beating around the bush, he jumped into the explination and waited for everything to click in her mind before asking. "Now that you know that, can you figure out why I'm here?"

She nodded then looked back at Naruto, her expression concerned. "He isn't willing to help me-" Kakashi said as he stared down at her. Shay's expression didn't change even as understanding dawned on her and she looked back at him.

Of course Naruto wouldn't be willing to help him, the situation was designed to force people to do something that they didn't want to do while making it appear as if they have a choice. In many ways, this situation probably reminded Naruto of the shit that had happened to him as a child. It was natural that he would shy away from this.

"Miss Michales...Shayera... It's your choice. I will not force you. I will not coax you, or judge you harshly if you say no."

"But at the same time you can't go without." Shay said as she studied him, Kakashi hung his head a little bit and then shook his head no. Shay closed her eyes and sighed, then there was no helping it. Asking Naruto to do this, even if it was to save her would be cruel.

"Alright. I'll do it. Just tell me what you want me to do." Kakashi blinked at her and called on what he knew of her past to help him decide on what he needed her to do before saying.

"You don't have to do anything. I'll do all of the work."

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_The bedroom door closed behind her with an finality that nearly made her panic. _

_She wasn't sure that she could do this. Sure she had said that she would, but this situation was as painful for her as it would have been for Naruto. She heard Kakashi come up behind her and nearly jumped out of her skin when he spoke again, his tone soft as he wrapped his arms around her and just held her for a moment. "You really don't have to do this." _

_He had meant what he had said about not wanting to force her or coax her. He knew everything about her secret past. Knew the pain and suffering that she had endured before escaping. She was such a brave girl. So strong and kind and warm.  
_

_And the fact that she had said yes to him alone, endeared her to him and gave rise to every protective instinct that he possessed. "It's fine. Someone has to do it and to be perfectly honest I'd rather it be me instead of Naruto. He's strong. But he's also sort of fragile." _

_Kakashi made a humming sound as he removed his arms from around her and stepped back and pulled his mask down around his neck as he said. "Most great shinobi are." Shay didn't say anything else. Even when he started stripping her and pushed her back on the bed so that she was laying down as he crawled onto the bed, and braced his arms on either side of her head and leaned over her and pressed his mouth against hers, his lips were soft against her own. _

_The small contact sparking an almost painful need to bury himself in her body. He managed to tamp down on it and push it back, intending to go as slow as he could so that she wouldn't be hurt when he finally did push inside of her. _

_He licked along her bottom lip seeking entrance to her mouth as he leveled himself on his elbows above her and slipped one hand up under her head and tangled his fingers in her hair as she parted her lips for him and let him kiss her more deeply. _

_She tasted so sweet. Like almonds and sweet cream with a touch of honeysuckle to it. It was definitely something that was interesting considering that most of the people he slept with tasted like pineapples or something. _

_He broke the kiss and lifted his head slightly and buried his face against her throat and blew on her skin causing her to squeak and twitch under him before he forced her to tip her head back so that he could nip at her jugular vein as he settled his body on top of her more comfortably. _

_Heat pulsed through his blood, making him hot, his body automatically responding to the softness of her body as he reached between them to touch her, his hand slipping between her legs so that he could lightly run his finger tips along the slit between her thighs before slipping his fingers inside of her. _

_She bit her lip to stifle a yelp of surprise, apparently not expecting him to touch her there so soon and he shifted a little bit more as he focused a small amount of chakra into his fingers and stroked her body. She let out a shocked scream as a peculiar tingling warmth started where he was touching her. _

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Several hours later-

Shay screamed and arched up off of the bed, her breath catching in her throat so that her scream turned into a strangled sob as strong fingers gripped her hips almost painfully as Kakashi drove himself inside of her for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past three hours.

The man made a strange sound and nuzzled her cheek, wanting her to turn her head for him. She did as he wanted and gasped when she felt his tongue slide along the curve of her cheek before he kissed her lips.

He was acting more like himself now. His actions were more controlled, and less frenzied.

Nothing at all like when they had started though she knew that he had tried to prepare her. He had been as gentle as he could in the beginning. But the moment he had been inside of her, he had ridden her hard. Ruthlessly, driving himself into her time and time again until it had almost hurt.

But after fucking her into the mattress several times he had gradually started to calm.

Not that it mattered much since she was exhausted, her body sore in ways that made her fear that her legs would fall off. And it was becoming hard for her to keep up with his body's demands.

He brushed up against her sweet spot and she shrieked as her vision dimmed, her body trembling as she gripped the sheets in her hands. He spilled an arm around her waist and reached out and slipped his other hand around her nape and jerked her up off of the mattress so that her body was against his and ravished her mouth as he rocked her against him until he felt her body go completely limp in his arms and knew that she had reached her limit.

He lifted his head, breaking the kiss so that he could check on her.

A few bruises and the dark circles under her eyes aside, she would be fine. Sighing softly he held her against him with one arm and reached out and grasped the bed covers in his other hand and jerked them back so that he could wrap Shay in them. Once that was done he lifted her off of his lap and laid her down on the bed and started grabbing the few articles of clothes that he had bothered to shed and pulled them back on before looking back over at the bed and frowned when he noticed the slight shaking of her body.

Reaching down he picked up his vest and without thinking placed it over Shay, on top of the covers then smoothed some of her damp hair back from her face and then slipped one hand inside of the pouch that was attached to his belt and pulled out a bottle of Morning After pills and set them on the bedside table, figuring that it was the only responsible thing that he could do since he hadn't bothered to use a condom.

After that he grabbed his mask and headband and then moved over to the bed again, unable to help himself, he felt that he should do something for her. Even though she wasn't aware of anything now.

He started to reach out and touch her again, but stopped himself and figured that it was best he just leave her alone and slipped out of the window and made his way home intending to make himself scarce since Naruto would most likely be pissed at him.


	45. Chapter 45

Okay. Lets make one thing clear here, I told you before that the sex in the previous chapter was consensual. And it was. Despite the situation, she said yes and meant it.

Kakashi never at any point forced Shay to do anything that he thought would be remotely damaging to her heart or mind.

Yes the Comfort law is a bit of a bitch, but most things in a shinobi's life are. The law was created for the safety of the shinobi (after all without them the village would fall and their people would die out), and the needs of the citizens are seen too as well. Naruto knows this so he won't be terribly mad at Kakashi.

And at the same time, Tsunade didn't think that Kakashi would use Shay to see to his needs. She had hoped that because of how bad off he was that _Naruto_ would see to him personally. So don't be mad at her. She actually wasn't trying to hurt anyone.(She and Kakashi are still unaware of the things that happened to Naruto.)

She just didn't want to send Kakashi home and find him dead later on.

To make a long explanation short, Shay's word will determine what Naruto does.

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Naruto had woken up laying face down on the floor and couldn't really recall how he had ended up there right away. He lay there for a second just breathing when he heard the mattress in the bedroom creaked and awareness slammed into his mind like a ton of bricks.

**_Get up kit. You need to go check on your mate._** Kyubbi growled in a dark tone as Naruto recalled Kakashi knocking on his front door covered in blood and asking him to comfort him. Naruto scrambled across the floor as he got up and ran down the hall to the bedroom and opened the door and all but fell on his face once he was inside.

Shay lay on the bed, her clothes on the floor, the beds comforter wrapped around her body and careful knotted into a toga style dress over one of her shoulders and a dark green vest had been carefully draped over her. He could smell the scent of sex and sweat hanging heavy in the air and staggered back until his back hit the wall and he stood there shaking and feeling sick as disbelief warred with grief and anger.

Kakashi had-

And Shay was-

His stomach lurched and he quickly clapped a hand over his mouth and ran to the bathroom where he promptly dropped to his knees in front of the toilet and puked. He sat there for several minutes, dry heaving as he cried and couldn't help but believe that this was his fault.

His fault for finding Shay and bringing her to the village.

His fault for having her stay with him.

His fault for becoming romantically interested in her and trying to protect her from everything.

He sat back and flushed the toilet and tried to think logically. Kakashi had given him his word that he would let her choose to help him or not. And he had always been an honorable man, still Naruto didn't know if he had _explained_ how the Comfort Decree worked.

Although the fact that they had slept together sort of pointed to yes, but he couldn't help but worry and wonder why she had said yes. He would have to wait and see how she was feeling when she woke up in order to fully understand.

Which sort of left him with another problem altogether.

Kakashi had left behind his vest. And Naruto knew enough about the man to know that his leaving it with Shay held some sort of significance. 1) He had decided to claim Shay as his lover in his own round about way. Or 2) He had left the vest to let Naruto know that Shay was under his protection now. Which meant that he had more or less adopted her into his clan as his sister or something.

Meaning that anyone stupid enough to try and lay their hands on her from now on would deal with the vindictive natured copy nin.

Naruto didn't mind the one, but he wasn't sure what to think about the other. On one hand he would probably be pissed and jealous of Kakashi for having stolen Shay away from him and on the other hand...

He wasn't looking forward to fighting the copy nin for her. God only knew what the bastard would do to him if he had decided to keep Shay as his lover. He sighed as he got to his feet and slowly made his way back to the bedroom and decided to sit down and wait to see what Shay said.

After that, he'd act accordingly.

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Kakashi walked into Tsunade's office at about one in the afternoon looking more like the man she knew than the man he had been last night. All traces of sorrow and vulnerability had been wiped from his expression.

He looked healthy. And that was what she had been hoping for.

_Looks like spending the night with Naruto did him a world of good_. Tsunade thought as he stopped in front of her desk and smiled at her. "Good morning Hokage-sama." He said in a cheerful tone that almost made her eye twitch in irritation.

"It's a little after one Kakashi-" The woman pointed out as she pointed at the clock hanging on the wall to their left. Kakashi turned his head and looked at it for a second, his visible eye widening a little bit as if he were surprised as Tsunade asked. "How are you feeling today Kakashi?"

"I feel fine. Much better than I did last night." Kakashi said as he looked back at her.

Tsunade smiled at him. A look of relief crossing her face and he narrowed his eye a little bit. She must have been more worried than she let on before to even send him there in the first place. Still, now that he felt better he couldn't help but feel a little pissed at her for sending him to Naruto in the first place since Naruto had never had to see to the comfort of his fellow shinobi before. "I knew Naruto would treat you well-" She said gently and he made a humming sound.

He wasn't going to say anything to her about who had comforted him last night. It was pointless and he didn't want to drag Shayera's reputation through the mud.

Which was why he was here in the Hokage's office after only two hours of sleep and another five hours of running himself into the ground to work out some issues mentally. He had come up with an idea.

Since Shayera Michales had been compassionate enough to offer herself to him last night and possibly saved him from a very agonizing and pathetic end- He wanted to do something for her to show how much he appreciated her sacrifice.

He was going to offer her his family name, half of the property left to him, as well as enough funds to live her life without worry.

It wasn't a pay off. Not by a long shot.

Kakashi knew that Shayera Michales _wasn't_ a whore. And his tattered and blood stained honor wouldn't allow him to _think_ or _treat_ her like one. Which was why he had been nearly killing himself trying to think of what he could do for her. That was when he had realised that Shay was eerily similar to Naruto which made her a danger to herself though he wasn't sure if she was aware of it.

Which was why he wanted to protect her. He wanted to protect her just as much as he wanted to protect everyone and everything dear to him.

"So what brings you here today Kakashi?" Tsunade finally asked after a moment or so of silence.

"I just wanted to tell you something important and see if you would mind documenting it."

Tsunade perked up in her seat. "Sure. Just tell me what it is."

Kakashi gave the woman a quicksilver grin from behind his mask and said, "I've found out some interesting news... Turns out that I still have family in another part of the world." Tsunade's jaw dropped and she jumped up out of her seat so quickly that it fell back and clattered to the floor.

"What? Are you serious? Where? How many? Which side of the family do they belong too?"

Kakashi chuckled and tried to answer her questions before she asked him some more. "Yes. In the village. I've only met the one, but I _think _her family is still alive. My dad's side."

_"What!"_

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Naruto lifted his head a little bit as Shay started to stir from her sleep and quickly got up and moved to the side of the bed as she opened her eyes and looked up at him, the dark rings under her eyes making her look so much more fragile than she had been before."Naruto..." Shay rasped in a low hoarse voice as she lifted one hand and reached for him.

"Hey." Naruto said softly as he took her delicate hand in his and sat down on the edge of the bed and kissed her finger tips as he tried to hold back a new wave of tears.

"You okay?" Shay asked, her expression concerned and Naruto felt as if he had been slapped. He tightened his grip on her hand and gritted his teeth for a second then all but growled at her.

"I should be asking you that, not the other way around."

Shay squeezed his fingers and gave him a small smile. "I'm fine..." Naruto looked like he didn't believe her. "I'm not hurt Naruto. Just a little sore and sleepy."

"He didn't force you? He told you everything?" Naruto asked anxiously. Shay made a soft humming sound, her dark green eyes drifting closed for a second or so. Her mind already trying to pull her back into another exhausted sleep.

"He kept telling me that I didn't have to help him. He kept asking me if I wanted him to stop..." Shay frowned and looked up at him as she vaguely recalled the look on Kakashi's face every time he had asked her if she wanted him to stop. Knew that he had been trying to tell her that she didn't have to help him. He had even said that if he started to scare her that he would leave at one point. But he hadn't scared her, or hurt her.

Even when he had fucked her almost to the point of pain, she had sensed his uncertainty, his worry and _fear_. And she simply hadn't been able to back out. It had seemed so cruel to her to let him suffer. "He was so scared Naruto. He was trying to hide it, but I could see it. And I couldn't just leave him...he's your friend. He thinks the world of you..." Shay said tiredly.

Naruto listened intently and squeezed her hand slightly when she said, "I'm sorry Naruto." He looked at her his azure eyes curious.

"What are you sorry for?" He asked softly, once again thinking that he should be the one saying those words to her as he lifted her hand back to his mouth and kissed her fingers again.

"You must feel very angry at me for betraying you." Shay said in a broken voice as her eyes teared up. Naruto gave her a pained look and shook his head. He didn't feel betrayed. Not really. He understood without asking why she had said yes to Kakashi and he loved her even more for it.

But that didn't mean that he wasn't going to tear into the copy nin the next time he saw him. He figured if nothing else, he could knock Kakashi around a little bit and then he'd get over it.

Maybe.

But right now he was more concerned with taking care of Shay. "I'm not mad baby. I'm just a little upset because I was worried. Knowing that Kakashi didn't hurt you takes a lot off of my mind." It wasn't a lie.

Knowing that Kakashi hadn't hurt her _did_ take a lot off of his mind. And while he couldn't exactly forgive Kakashi at the moment, he wasn't exactly pissed at him for doing what he had too to survive either. He was just happy that Shay didn't seem to be suffering any lasting damage from the nights events.

And in the end, that was really all that mattered to him.


	46. Chapter 46

Two days later-

Kakashi was starting to get paranoid that Naruto hadn't come looking for him yet. Every time he saw someone with blond hair, he automatically braced himself to have some of his teeth knocked out. But as time passed, and a few hours turned into a day, then two, he started to get worried that maybe he had gone way too far with Shay and hurt her badly.

Which was why on the second day at exactly ten in the morning the copy nin found himself standing outside of Naruto's apartment with his hand raised to knock when the door swung open all of a sudden and Kakashi blinked when he came eye to eye with the blond haired, blue eyed teen.

"Uh...Naruto-" He was about to apologise for everything and explain his presence on the teen's door step when the teen reared back one fist and punched him across the face with a wicked right hook. Kakashi's head snapped violently to the side so hard that his entire body jerked side ways with it and he almost went toppling down the steps leading up to the door.

He managed to grab the railing of the steps before he could fall and pulled himself away from the steps before shaking his head slightly as his cheek burned and throbbed. "Ow."_ Ow._The teen had slugged him but good. Kakashi thought in wary amusement before saying.

"Alright. I deserved that-"

Naruto gave him an evil smirk and rubbed his knuckles. "Yeah. You did-" Naruto said before his expression lightened a bit though Kakashi could still sense the anger boiling just under neath the surface. "So what brings you here, oh evil bastard?"

_Evil bastard?_ Kakashi wondered if that was his new nickname from the blond. If so he'd have to thank him. It was a hell of a lot catchier than anything he had thought Naruto would come up with considering what the copy nin had done. But if that was Naruto's worst, then he wasn't going to push things. After all, Naruto had every reason to be upset with him.

"I was wondering if Shayera was alright?"

"She's fine-" Naruto said as he stepped back out of the door way a little bit so that Kakashi could see the top of the girl's dark head laying on the arm of Naruto's couch. "She's been up moving around a little bit today. I think she's feeling better now that she's slept for over a day strait." Naruto said as the copy nin turned his attention back to the teen.

"I'm glad she's okay. When you didn't show up to kill me I got worried."

Naruto gave him a pointed look and arched a brow at him. An amused smile curving his lips. "So you waited two days to come and see if she was okay."

Kakashi shrugged and gave him a pointed look of his own. "Self preservation instinct. It's hard to do the right thing when your self preservation instinct has you running in the oppisit direction." Naruto snorted and shook his head.

"Is there any other reason why your here?"

"Yes actually-" Naruto tensed up a little bit though the smile on his face never faltered. "I left my vest here with Shay."

"I saw. I actually wanted to talk to you about that." Naruto said as he reached out and grabbed the front of the copy nin's shirt and pulled him inside of the apartment and grinned evilly as he closed and locked the door before Kakashi could even say 'Hey wait'.

Shay had been laying down.

Not to sleep mind you, she was still tired, she just didn't want to go back to sleep yet. Not until she had eaten at least four full meals to make up for the food that she hadn't eaten in the past two days. She had gotten up at four this morning and had slipped from the bedroom while Naruto had slept on the bed next to where she had slept. He had simply been so exhausted that she hadn't wanted to wake him.

So she had left him to sleep and meandered her way into the living room and curled up on the couch and watched some TV until Naruto had woken up about fifteen minutes ago and was eagerly awaiting the breakfast that he had said that he would make for her when he had noticed that someone was outside and had gone to see who it was.

She had sort of lain down and started to doze off after that, only catching a little tid bits of conversation between himself and the person at the door. And the next thing she knew she felt Naruto's hand on her shoulder, and her pried her eyes open to look at him. "Hey sleepy head. Someone came by to see you. Are you feeling up to seeing him?"

"Him?" Shay asked stupidly, her mind still not running on all four cylinders. Naruto nodded his head and moved aside a little bit so that she could see Kakashi standing behind him with a guilty look on his masked face.

"Oh. Oh. Sure. Hows it going Kakashi-san?" Shay asked as she slowly pushed herself upright, suddenly feeling more awake than she had in days. She hadn't expected to see the silver haired man again so soon. And while she wasn't exactly in the best condition to receive a guest, she had been wondering how the man was doing. And there was no time like the present to find out.

Kakashi blinked at her question. He had thought that she would be mad at him like Naruto was and hadn't expected her to receive him in such a friendly manner. "Uh...good. I guess. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Still a bit out of sorts, but I should be good in another day or so. How are you? Are you feeling any better?" Shay asked. Kakashi felt a strange tightness in his chest upon hearing her questions and swallowed past the lump in his throat.

"I-I'm fine. I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me. I know that it couldn't have been easy for you-" Kakashi said almost shyly, a flush working it's way across the unmasked portion of his face as he looked away from her.

Shay shrugged her shoulders. "Someone had to do it." Kakashi frowned at her words. She was belittling her sacrifice. Shrugging it off as if it were nothing when it was everything. He wondered if she even understood just how severe the situation had been the other night.

Kakashi had accidentally killed a comrade while on a mission. He had been raw and angry and in so much pain that if Tsunade had let him go home...he probably would have killed himself.

By acting as an outlet for his needs, Shay had helped him vent without causing himself actual harm. She had stayed with him all night, letting him have his way. Letting him touch her, and feeling her touch him in return.

She had saved him.

This amazing, sweet and kind woman had made him feel something other than the cold numbness in his chest, threatening to tear his heart and mind apart.

And he owed her. "Don't do that-" Kakashi said gently as he moved to stand next to the couch then dropped down to one knee next to her and grasped her hand in his and squeezed it slightly. "Don't belittle the sacrifice you made."_ Don't belittle yourself. _Kakashi thought somberly.

Shay frowned, unsure of what to make of his words and looked around the room to find Naruto hoping that he might be able to explain things to her and sighed when she saw him working in the kitchen to make her breakfast. "It's not a big deal Kakashi-san-"

Kakashi's fingers tightened around her hand a little bit and shook his head, a sigh escaping him. Crap. She really didn't understand just how big a deal what she had done for him was. "Yes it is a big deal Shay-" Kakashi said gravely. "When a civilian sees to the needs of a shinobi who is emotionally fragile, their sacrifice is seen as a rare and _precious_ treasure to the shinobi that they help-"


	47. Chapter 47

Kakashi's fingers tightened around her hand a little bit and shook his head, a sigh escaping him. Crap. She really didn't understand just how big a deal what she had done for him was. "Yes it is a big deal Shay-" Kakashi said gravely. "When a civilian sees to the needs of a shinobi who is emotionally fragile, their sacrifice is seen as a rare and _precious_ treasure to the shinobi that they help- It's a way of honoring us." Shay blinked at him.

Honor? Precious treasure?

All she had done was sleep with him. What was so honorable about that?

"Let me explain it differently-" Kakashi said after a second or so. "It's like...giving someone your virginity or naming your first born after them. In the shinobi world, those things are the same as _priceless_ treasures. If we _could_ covet them, we _would_. Because those are the things that keep us fighting. The things that keep us human. Without these things, we would die. It is for that reason that you yourself have become _my_ treasure-" Kakashi said seriously and jumped a little bit and twisted his head around when Naruto came up behind him.

_Ah. Now I get it._ Naruto thought somberly.

Because Shay had helped Kakashi, he had decided to honor her in a similar fashion to the way she had honored him. Naruto patted the copy nin on the shoulder and then excused himself to go into the kitchen and fix Shay's breakfast before she was too tired to even bother eating.

"If you have something to give Shay, Kakashi, then get on with it." He said before walking away.

Kakashi stared at the teen's back for a second then looked at Shay again and said. "I want to give you something precious_ of mine._ Something that I know might be of use to you-"

Shay started to shake her head no when she heard Naruto say from the kitchen. "Don't say no Shayera. It's Kakashi's right as a shinobi who's life was saved by a civilian to give you something."

Hell it was Kakashi's right as a shinobi to shower her in gifts for the rest of her life if that's what he so wished.

"But I don't want anything." Shay said in an almost panicked tone as she looked at Kakashi wide eyed. Kakashi chuckled in amusement. He had known that she would resist him a bit, but his mind was made up and he would do this even if he had to kidnap her and mark her without her consent.

"I know that you aren't the type of person to use this situation to your advantage which is why I first want to tell you what I'm offering you. Then if you want to say no, I'll drop the subject and leave it at that. Just know that I will keep the offer on the table for you if you decide later on to change your mind."

"Umm, o-okay...I-I'll hear you out." Shay said weakly as Kakashi smiled at her.

"Good girl-" Kakashi said in a cheerful tone before saying. "I want to place my clan's mark on you and adopt you into my clan as my sister. I would be giving you half of everything that I have. Half of my properties, half of the money that my family left to me when they died. I've never touched it so there should be quiet a bit for you to live off of. And as my sister you would be under my protection."

Naruto dropped the glass of orange juice that he had just poured and stared at the copy nin from behind the kitchen counter, his eyes wide. Dear god, that was one hell of a gift. And a damn useful one too since Kakashi's name carried a lot of pull.

Shay would be treated like a Diamyo's wife or daughter if she said yes. Everyone in the village would more or less bow to her every whim and would even lay down their lives to protect her if anything ever happened to Kakashi and she were left defenseless.

She would have all of the advantages of a Hatake woman by birth, and none of the actual pit falls.

Shay would be set for life.

Shay wasn't sure what to say to Kakashi. She didn't exactly know what he meant by adopting her into his clan. Or even why he would share half of everything with her (Hadn't he worked very hard for those things?) and as flattered as she was she didn't want to say yes without thinking it over first. Nor did she want to insult him. "Kakashi-san I- That is- That's very kind-" Crap, she really didn't know what to say to him!

Kakashi didn't move, didn't speak, he just sat there listening intently, knowing that this was probably a bit much for her right now and though he didn't expect an answer so soon, he couldn't help but feel anxious about his offer.

This was the_ highest _honor that he could give her. The only thing that he truly felt that she could use considering how many hostile shinobi there were in the village just waiting for Naruto to go on a mission out of the village so that they could get at her.

"I don't expect an answer right now Shay. I just want you to know that regardless of what you choose...I will always protect you-" He squeezed her hand one more time then leaned in and kissed her cheek then let go of her hand and stood up. "I'll leave now. Your still tired and need to rest. Just tell me your answer when your ready." Kakashi said gently before looking over his shoulder at Naruto. The blond blinked at him, a shell shocked look still on his face as he lifted one hand and sort of waved at the older male before Kakashi walked over to the front door and slipped out.

Kakashi got three blocks before he stopped dead in his tracks as it occurred to him that he had forgotten to ask if Naruto had given Shay one or two of the morning after pills and for a moment debated on going back and asking just to make sure that all of his bases were still covered and then shrugged his shoulders and decided against it.

Naruto would probably punch him again if he asked, so he'd just wait and ask Shay later on once she was back on her feet.

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Okay. There it is. I can't think of anything else to write right now so I'm going to work on Heirs a little more and see if I can get another few chapters up.

For those of you who have read it-thanks.

For those of you who haven't-What the hell? I worked hard on it and you should check it out.


	48. Chapter 48

Shay made a funny sound and handed her plate back to Naruto who took the dish of half eaten eggs over easy, bacon, and toast and set it on the coffee table next to him and looked back at her as he picked up the cup of orange juice (the second one, since he had broken the first) and held it out to her.

Shay took the cup with both hands and took a sip or two before handing it back. "Is that all you want to drink?" Naruto asked with a frown as he took the glass and set it aside too before turning his full attention back to Shay.

Shay nodded her head and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She was still exhausted. "I'm too sleepy to eat or drink any more right now." She said as she scooted herself down a little bit and soft of flopped her head back on the pillow behind her head and looked pitiful as Naruto's lips curved up in a small smile and he shook his head in amusement.

She was cute like this. Pitiful. But cute never the less.

"Are you planning to go to sleep on me honey?"

"Mmmm. Thinking about it."

Naruto nodded his head and reached out and brushed some of her dark hair back from her face then asked. "Do you mind staying up just a little bit longer? I want to talk to you about Kakashi-sensei's offer."

Shay looked at him and frowned. Why in the world would Naruto want to talk about this with her? Now of all times. She was ten seconds from sleepy town land. "Better make it fast, Naruto. I think I see sand man fairies."

Naruto blinked and looked around the room in an effort to figure out where she saw sand man fairies. Then the thought occurred to him that he didn't know what the hell a sand man fairy was, _period_. He looked back at her and made a mental note to ask her later what a sand man fairy was and then reached out to shake her shoulder when he noticed that she was like two seconds from snoring and she jerked under his hand and opened her eyes and looked at him like she'd like to see his head burst into flames.

"I think you should say yes to Kakashi's offer." As much as he hated the thought of having to share her with another person, he felt and knew that having her say yes, would be in her best interest in the long run.

After all, he had his missions and she couldn't stay in the village by herself. Unprotected.

Kakashi was old enough for his twenty five years, and had served the village as a shinobi for eighteen or nineteen years. Chances were fairly good that he would retire once Shay said yes so that he could shift his attention from protecting the village to protecting _her_. Inevitably he would even marry and have children. But not before he found a decent match for Shay and saw her married and with a kid on the way first.

"Why?" Shay asked, wanting to know why exactly being adopted by the man would be such an honor. She still knew so little about the village and how it worked.

"Because his name has a lot of pull. He's just as powerful as the Hokage, and his name is just as respected. If he claims you as a long lost relative or something, then no one would dare dispute his claim. Not only that, but he would spend all of his time and efforts trying to be a good brother to you..."

"I've never had a brother or sister before Naruto. What if I get on his nerves?"

Naruto chuckled at the innocent and childlike question. Shay could no more get on Kakashi's nerves than Naruto could. The man was nothing but patient. "He'll adore you and spoil you outrageously."

"Because he wants to honor me?"

"No. Because he's never had a family. His mom and dad both died when he was really little so he doesn't really remember them. That's why, I think having you take his offer would make him really happy. So happy that he'd want to give you every piece of unconditional love that he's kept locked away in his heart all this time."

"But..." Shay started to argue and Naruto shook his head and put his index finger against her lips to silence her.

"Look at this from my point of view Shay. Your staying with the most feared and hated man in the village. This makes you a target to all sorts of unsavory characters. Serial killers, rapists, people who would like nothing more than to tear you apart just to hurt me. And the fact that I care for you so much just makes them want to get their hands on you even more. Kakashi can protect you in ways that I can't. He'd act as your shadow. Anyone stupid enough to try and fuck with you would pay dearly for it. If you couple that knowledge with the money and properties that he intends to give to you, you would be able to live your life very comfortably."

Shay frowned at him. He had some very valid points, but the truth of the matter was that people with such power and wealth were often hated by others with similar power and wealth. Saying yes to Kakashi's offer may give her a more comfortable life, but at the same time it would make her more of a target too.

And not just from kidnappers and killers. But from the other clans in the village too.

Anyone wanting connections to Kakashi's clan would see her as a means to an end. They would attack her, kidnap her, blackmail, and bully her. They would beat her to break her will and force her into marrying someone in their family for political reasons. And there wouldn't be a damn thing anyone could do about it.

But if Naruto felt this strongly that it would be a positive thing, then she supposed that she could trust him enough to trust his judgment.

"If you really think I should..."

"I do. But I want you to sleep on it for a night or two before you answer. Now, close your eyes and go to sleep. Just don't be too surprised if Kakashi shows up early in the morning to fix you breakfast." Naruto said as he got up off of the coffee table and leaned over her and kissed her cheek before turning around and gathering the dishes and walking away.

Leaving her with far too much to think and worry about.


	49. Chapter 49

_Tsunade walked into the council room and looked at the people sitting around the table and sighed. Damn. She had hoped that the group wouldn't be in yet so that she could grab the papers that Kakashi had asked her to document on his long lost kin, the same papers that had fallen into their hands and now had every clan head in the village chomping at the bit; and run. But obviously since everyone was in the meeting room already, running wasn't an option anymore._

_Damn, damn._

_"Tsunade, please take your seat and we will get started." Homera said almost cheerfully. Tsunade growled and walked over to her seat at the head of the table and flopped down in it._

_"You better make it fast. I have plans today." Tsunade snapped in an irritated tone._

_"Very well-" Koharu said. "We are here today to discuss the matter of Kakashi Hatake's long lost kin. And how her presence in the village can be used to our advantage-"_

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Naruto sighed and shook his head in exasperation and let go of Shay's nose and stood there for a moment scratching his cheek.

It had been a little over five hours since Shay had eaten breakfast and fallen asleep. Lunch time had already come and gone and now it was getting close to dinner time...and he couldn't seem to wake her up to eat the food that he had fixed for her.

He didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry about that since he had gone all out this time, figuring that maybe if he made the food more appealing to her then maybe she would eat more.

He sighed again and leaned down and slipped an arm under her shoulders and the other one under her legs and lifted her up off of the couch so that he could move her to the bedroom and turned and slowly took his time walking down the hall to the bedroom and used his shoulder to push the door open and carried her over to the bed and laid her down on it. And then reached out and grasped the covers and pulled them up over her and then started to turn around to leave when he saw something that looked suspiciously like an orange pill bottle laying on the floor in between the table and the bed and bent down to pick it up.

A frown crossing his face as he picked it up and turned it around so that he could read the label and felt his eye twitch as murderous rage filled his being.

That son of a bitch- He had- Shay hadn't-

"Oh I am going to _kill_ that cock sucking whore when I see him next..." Naruto snarled as he stuffed the pill bottle into his pants pocket and looked back at Shay and made another weird little sound in the back of his throat and then left the room so that he could make himself comfortable in the living room so that he could sit up all night waiting for Kakashi to slip in just so that he could kill him.

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_Tsunade couldn't believe these people! _

_Kakashi had only had a day to spend with his cousin and the village idiots were already planning to marry her off to someone who had a track record of abusing the women in his house hold. The damn man had already killed three of his previous wives with his abuse. _

_What in the world made them think that Kakashi wouldn't butcher the man once he found out that his precious cousin was going to be married off to him? Did they really think that Kakashi would let them do as they liked? _

_Golden brown eyes narrowed as she listened to the excited mummers of the others in the room. Her anger mounting more and more by the second.  
_

_"We will contact the lord and get his approval-" _

_"I will have the girl taken to the hospital to have her checked out-" _

_"Should we have her taken and trained in the bed room arts?"_

_"No. Lord Kunei will want her to be a virgin. He dislikes the lack luster of jaded women. He prefers to break in his bride, himself." _

_"Oh! So that once she produces an heir for him he will know it is his, how intelligent." _

_Tsunade couldn't stand it any more. These people were fools and she wasn't going to let them sacrifice Kakashi's only, maybe, living relative left for their own selfish gain. Her hands came down on the table, splintering it in half as she stood up and yelled. _

_"Shut Up! What are you people crazy?" The room suddenly went quiet as all eyes turned to her. "Do you have any idea what kind of life your condemning that poor girl too! Do you even care? She's Kakashi's (again maybe) only living relative! She would be better off here in the village where she isn't likely to be killed by an abusive husband! We can let her choose her own husband and restart the Hatake clan! We can let her stay close to Kakashi, so that she will be protected! She's not a bloody bargaining chip to be tossed out on the table with every roll of the dice. She's a person! Leave her alone!"_

_"With all due respect Lady Tsunade, this is for the good of the village. And you have no idea what your talking about."_

_"Oh. So what are you going to say to Kakashi? Do you really think he'll let you place the girl in a situation that could once again make him the last of his clan?"_

_"Kakashi will do as he's told." One council member said in a smug tone. Tsunade gave him an evil smirk and walked around the broken table to his seat and leaned down and said in a hushed tone that was loud enough for the others to hear. _

_"Kakashi will kill you without a second thought once you tell him what you've got in store for his kin. And he'll get away with it because I'll help him." And with that she straitened her spine and walked across the room to the door and called back over her shoulder as she walked out of the room. _

_"Enjoy the rest of your lives...they'll be over soon enough!"  
_

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_

Kakashi sat at the desk in his spare room pouring over his family texts. Trying to figure out how the males of his clan acted around the females.

He knew that like any clan, his had a specific code of conduct when dealing with their kin and he didn't want to make any mistakes. So far he had noted several very old and bizarre documented behaviors.

Like the one he was reading about now.

_The males of the family would feed the females from their hand. Never at any point would they allow the female to feed herself_. Apparently having a male feed the female was supposed to be a sign of respect and affection to be used between spouses, and siblings and lovers.

He blinked and shook his head as a flush worked it's way across his unmasked face. He understood the Hatake males primitive need to provide for their females, but that-

That...was just a little bit too intimate for his taste. It would probably embaress Shayera too. He shook his head and picked up the ink pen sitting beside the old tome in front of him and quickly amended that rule. Leaving it as an act between lovers and mates then moved on.

_A Hatake female must always dress nicely and act accordingly. It is for the sake of the clan that she must conduct herself as a lady at all times, least she might bring shame upon the clan and herself._

Kakashi scowled and flipped the page to look at the rows of sentences and paragraphs on the other side and rolled his eyes as he flipped the page back. God in heaven there were so many rules!_ If I ever find out which dick sat down and wrote this tome, I'm going to dig him up and piss on his grave._ Kakashi thought darkly as he moved on to the next rule.

_A Hatake woman must always have a male relative with her when she goes out walking around the village or outside the village._

Well at least he knew the purpose of this rule. It was for the woman's safety and well being that she always have a male escort to protect her innocence. He could do that. It might be a little creepy for Shay at first, but hopefully she would get over her feelings of discomfort with time.

The trick was to escort her without making her feel like a prisoner.

His mis matched eyes scanned the words of the next rule- Well it wasn't exactly a rule. It was more like a right of passage for the females of his clan.

_When a Hatake female has reached the age of twelve, the clan head takes her aside and places a mark of his own design on her skin and then he would blind fold her and lead her into another room where the adult males would be waiting and he would then strip her naked so that he and the other males could measure her body's development and her worth to the clan- _

Kakashi visibly cringed and ripped the page out of the book and promptly crumpled it up and threw it in the aluminum trash can next to his desk and then opened the desk drawer and pulled out some matches.

Oh hell no.

He was _not_ doing something like that to an innocent girl just to measure her development and her worth to the clan. That was stupid and degrading and it was _total_ bullshit. Besides he already _knew_ her worth to the clan.

He struck the match and dropped it into the trash can and watched as that rather degrading piece of paper was destroyed before he got irritated with the whole damn tome and quickly pushed it into the trash can so that it would burn too and then ran his bare hands over his face and growled.

After reading that little page he had decided to write a new tome of conduct for his clan. But first he needed to design a mark to place on Shay's body, and while he was at it, he'd add a few discreet safety features that would allow him to track, monitor, and teleport her to safety if she should ever be kidnapped or something.

He sat there for hours, sketching and re sketching different symbols that could be used. He wanted the mark he placed on her to be something that labeled her a leaf village woman, but at the same time, he wanted it to be something unique and feminine. Not something that looked like a bunch of scribbles and chicken scratch.

In the end he decided to use the symbol on his headband, but added a few little touches to it to make it unique and feminine. Around the symbol he sketched a flowering vine, with little jutsu formula's around the swirl and in the middle was a blooming lotus flower with a little blue, mint green, and pink, monarch butterfly hanging on one of the petals.

Once he was done he looked it over a few times, corrected any mistakes that he had made and then re sketched it so that it was smaller than the half a page that he was using as a model for it, reducing it to the size of 14mm.

Big enough to be seen. Yet small enough to be placed anywhere on her body.

"Perfect."


	50. Chapter 50

Kakashi didn't bother trying to sleep. He was too nervous about the up coming day and the things that he had planned for Shayera. He was going to surprise his new sister (God, he got such a strange fluttering feeling in his stomach every time he thought of her as his sister) by making her breakfast, then he was going to see if she was well enough to go shopping.

After reading his family texts last night he had gotten a little bit of an impression on how Hatake women dressed and acted.

He was going to take her shopping for some kimono's, some hair combs, silk purses, maybe a few girly items like perfume. Then he was going to take her by one of the houses that he was going to give her and let her look around it and see if she liked it, then he would give her the key and get some furniture for it and then if she wanted, both she and Naruto could move into the place.

Or she could burn it to the ground if that's what she wanted to do.

He didn't really care as long as she was happy. But that didn't stop him from feeling anxious and nervous. He'd never had a sibling before. He'd had people that he might have cared for as siblings. But he couldn't recall how he had behaved around them since that had been years ago and those people were now dead.

But that was totally different from adopting someone into his family. Right? Because those people hadn't really been his _family_. But once he placed the mark on Shay, she _would_ be. Everything about her would be exactly like him. Her hair would change from black to silver, her canine teeth would become a little longer and sharper. Her senses would become similar to his own.

It was simply how the adoption process _worked_ in his clan.

The only things that wouldn't change were her eyes, most of her physical appearance, and her personality. Even her blood would be the same as it was before she was adopted by him. She could even keep her real families name if she so wished because he didn't want to destroy all of her ties to them.

That would just be cruel.

And they were her family by blood. He would be her family by bond. But that didn't mean that he didn't want to do a good job as a brother.

He glanced at the clock sitting on his bedside table and quietly pushed himself up on his bed then stood up and walked over to his dresser and opened the top drawer and pulled out some clean underwear, and some socks. Then set them on top of the dresser then opened the third drawer and fished out a black turtle neck shirt then set it aside and walked the three feet to his closet and found himself some clean pants and some shoes then moved back to his dresser and picked up the clothes and set them on his bed to see how they would look.

Once he was sure that they would look okay he turned and walked into the bathroom to take a shower. He flicked on the light in the bathroom and moved to stand in front of the mirror and looked at himself.

He was a beautiful man. Terrifyingly so.

Silky silver hair that was longer in the front and on the sides than in the back. A savagely masculine face, firm sensual lips. The lower one a little fuller than the upper one. Proud aristocratic nose, pale silver, brows, one a little broken from the scar running down to his left eye lid. The bone structure a model would die for.

He stood at six foot six, was powerfully built, had the grace of an animal. And had the exotic mis matched eyes of a wolf.

Physically he was every village woman's darkest fantasy's sprung to life.

One wouldn't expect him to have problems with women, or to even to feel nervous about pleasing one. But Kakashi already knew enough about Shayera to know that she didn't care about physical appearances.

She cared more about what was in a person's heart than how they looked. Still, he couldn't help feel that he was at a disadvantage. He didn't know how to go about making a woman happy outside of the bedroom. And certainly didn't know anything about making a woman happy in a platonic relationship.

He sighed and ran his hands over his face in frustration. He was in over his head with Shay. He knew it, yet there was nothing that he could do about it. Honor dictated that he do this. And his honor was all a killer like him _had_ to keep him human. To keep him sane.

And besides, he owed her more than he could ever repay.

He made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat and quickly stripped and climbed into the shower and turned on the shower and picked up the soap as he stepped under the spray.

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Naruto fell asleep.

He didn't remember falling asleep. Or when he fell asleep while waiting for Kakashi to show up. All he knew was that he woke up face down on the couch, drooling a little bit and felt a deep sense of disgust.

God what was wrong with him? He was supposed to be really, _really _pissed at Kakashi for potentially knocking Shay up with his demon offspring. So why had he fallen asleep? He should have been so riled up that he wouldn't be able to close his eyes at all!

_Uh. I'm going to pieces over this shit._ Naruto thought darkly as he pushed himself upright a little bit and wiped the drool from his chin then looked down at the pillow that he had had tucked under his head and scowled at the wet mark on it then picked it up and flipped it over, suddenly feeling self conscious about the fact that he sometimes drooled when he slept.

It wasn't exactly something that a healthy man in semi relationship ever wanted his semi girlfriend to know. He yawned and stretched his back, popping it in several places before tilting his head to the side when he heard the shower start down the hall.

Hn. Shay was up earlier than he expected her to be. _She must be feeling better._ Naruto mused as he got up and went into the kitchen to make himself some coffee.

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okay I think that's it now. I can't think anymore.

I hope that you enjoyed it.


	51. Chapter 51

Sorry kittens, but the serious talk really is needed before Naruto gets his hands on Kakashi.

I put some funny stuff in there.

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Shay got out of the shower feeling much better than she had before. Almost all traces of soreness in her body was gone. The dark little splotches on her hips were faded. She dried off and slipped on some clean clothes and then walked out of the bathroom after gathering up her things and putting them in the dirty clothes hamper. She made her way out of the bedroom and into the living room and paused when she saw Naruto sitting cross armed on the couch with a dark look on his face.

Whoa. "Who put your puppy in a blender?" Shay asked as he looked up at her and slowly let his expression soften as he looked her over.

"You look better."

"I am. Are you going to answer me?"

"Probably not-" Naruto said as a his lips curved up in a smile as he unfolded his arms and held them out to her. "Come here and let me hold you for a little bit." He said as she walked over to him and let him pull her down into his lap and sighed as she settled her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head.

It felt nice to be able to hold her again. He'd missed her softness and warmth. "I've missed you." Naruto finally said after a moment or so as he loosened his hold on her a little bit so that she could lean back to look at him if she wanted.

Shay didn't lean back like he had expected her too, she did however tip her head back and kiss his chin. "I missed you too..." Naruto's heart did a funny little flip flop in his chest upon hearing her words.

"Did you really?" Shay made a humming sound as she reached up and slipped hand through his spiky blond hair and tugged his head down a little bit so that she could kiss him on the lips. The touch was soft and shy. And it fired Naruto's blood like nothing else could.

He made a growling sound in the back of his throat and framed her face in his hands and gave her a deep, long kiss that left her panting for breath when he lifted his head. He brushed his lips across her swollen lips, once, twice, three times before remembering that Kakashi may have impregnated her and pulled back a little bit. "As much as I would keep going like this...we need to talk." Naruto said in a shaky voice as he took several deep breaths and tried not to notice the adorable flush that worked it's way across her face, or just how much he wanted to ravish her.

After several minutes or so, he managed to get himself under control and stood up so that he could set her on the couch then moved over to the coffee table and sat down and looked at her. "We need to talk-" He said more firmly as a confused and slightly hurt expression crossed her pretty face.

"About what?" Shay asked, secretly hoping that he didn't want to talk about the night that she had spent with Kakashi.

She knew that he must feel angry about that, even though he said he wasn't. Having the girl that he liked sleep with one of his friends before even doing anything with him, would seem like a slap in the face.

He may have even felt cheated. Like she didn't care about him or something.

"I want to talk about us. Our future together." He figured that they needed some sort of plan just in case a baby was on the way. Shay got a pained expression on her face and sort of hung her head, her silky black hair falling in her face, hiding it from view.

She was quiet for a second as she wrapped her arms around herself and asked in a small voice. "Do we even have a future?"

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, having already worked out what he was going to say in his mind, and abruptly shut his mouth as he realised that he had already messed up."Shit. Shay, honey look at me-" She lifted her head slightly to look at him and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. The look on her face could tie him up in knots and make him break down and cry, it was such a lost and desolate look.

"Sweetheart, I told you before that I know why you slept with Kakashi. I'm not mad about it. I understand all too well that you did it to protect me and keep me from reliving what had been done to me as a kid. I also know that you partially did it to help Kakashi even though you didn't understand what it meant. You were so brave and strong and I love you even more for it-" Naruto said as he reached out and gently pried her hands from her arms and lifted them to his lips and kissed both of her palms lovingly as he continued.

"What I meant to say before was that we needed to talk because...someone sort of _goofed_ up, and I want to know your thoughts on...the goof up because it will affect your future in a big way."

Shay blinked rapidly in an effort to keep herself from crying. He loved her. She had heard him say it before but she had been a little leery of believing him because of her past. But sitting here now she could tell that he was telling her the truth. And she didn't know how to respond to his words.

So for the moment she pushed that aside and focused on Naruto and his talk. "Um. Okay, what is it that you want to talk about?"

"I need to talk to you about a little-" He sort of cringed at the word 'little'. Because having a child wasn't a little thing. That's why he needed to know if she was up to the task of having it, raising it and so on. He also needed to be prepared just in case she decided that she didn't want to have it period. "Issue that may arise as a direct consequence of the night that you spent with Kakashi."

Shay opened her mouth to ask him what he was talking about and stopped as his words sunk in and she suddenly looked a little pale and green and rasped. "_Oh_. Oh I see."

Naruto kept his grip on her hands and gave her an anxious look as she shook her head then said, "Well that is a little bit of an issue isn't it?"

"Just a bit yeah... What do you want me to do if you are?"

"I-I don't understand your question Naruto." Shay said in a shaky tone as Naruto gave her a pointed look.

"What I mean is- Do you still want to live together and sort of date? Or do you want to get married? The baby will need a father-"

"But wouldn't Kakashi be the baby's father?" Shay asked with a frown. Naruto gave her a tight lipped smile and squeezed her hands slightly.

"Technically. But I'm not sure how he will react to the possibility of being a father."

"So your saying that he might not want anything to do with the baby..."

"Maybe. I dunno. He's usually pretty good about his responsibilities."

"I should hope so since you told me to say yes to his offer."

Naruto blinked for a second and then swore. Fuck, he had forgotten about that. "Right. I forgot about that."

"Would my being pregnant with his baby cause problems if I said yes to his offer?"

Naruto pondered her question for a second or so then shook his head no. "I wouldn't think so. He would insist on you being made a member of his family anyways if he knew you were. He'd probably try to protect you and the baby even if he didn't marry you. But since your going to be a Hatake anyways, then I don't really foresee any problems. He'd probably insist on finding a worthy husband for you if he felt he wasn't ready to step up, but even if he did that he'd still act as an uncle or something to the baby so that he would be around if you needed him."

"I see..." Was all Shay said as she looked down at the floor and Naruto sighed and let go of one of her hands and then stood up and moved himself back over to the couch and sat down next to her and laced their fingers together.

"Shay, look at me-" Naruto said in a velvety soft tone that she couldn't resist. She lifted her head a little bit and looked at him, her expression troubled. "I will not let you do this alone. I don't care if the baby is Kakashi's. I'll help you raise it. I adore children."

"But that isn't fair to you."

Naruto shrugged. "Life is rarely fair. Paternity means nothing to me as long as there is affection. I love you. What makes you think that I wouldn't love this small part of you too?"

"Nothing. And while that's all well and good Naruto, we can't over look the possibility that I may _not_ be pregnant too."

"You're right. So lets make a deal."

"A deal?" Shay asked stupidly as Naruto made a humming sound and let go of her hand so that he could slip an arm around her shoulders and nodded his head with a serious expression on his face.

"If your pregnant, let me take care of you. And if your not-" He sort of leaned into her until he hand her pinned under him, her eyes wide, her face flushed an adorable pink as he gave her a wicked grin and leaned his head down and brushed his lips across hers again as he spoke. "Then that would give me the chance to do some really naughty stuff to you until you are."

Shay's pink blush morphed into a scarlet red as she started to stutter as Naruto chuckled at the cute look on her face before silencing her stuttering with a deep, loving kiss.


	52. Chapter 52

Naruto decided to wait until Shay knew something definite about her potential 'condition' before he dealt with Kakashi. Since it was pointless to simply beat the man with in an inch of his life right this moment for something that may or may _not_ have happened. Which was why he gave Shay one last kiss before grabbing his jacket, his shoes and his head band and put them on and slipped out the door as he sensed Kakashi coming up the steps to his apartment, carrying a plastic bag of food.

The copy nin looked up at him for a brief second as Naruto started to vault over the railing and paused for a second. "Going somewhere Naruto?" Kakashi asked curiously as he stared at the blond. Naruto gave him a tight lipped smile.

"Training. I'm leaving Shay in your hands for the day so that you two can bond as siblings..." Naruto said in a polite tone that sounded like it was a mite forced. Kakashi studied the blond for a second then nodded his head in understanding. Naruto was leaving so that Kakashi would feel more at ease since the copy nin still got tense around him because of what had happened between himself and Shay.

It was the guilt, Kakashi supposed. He _still_ felt guilty for sleeping with Shayera when Naruto cared so much for her.

Kakashi was quiet for a second or two before nodding his head in understanding and muttering. "Thanks Naruto."

Naruto blinked at him for a second as his tight lipped smile morphed into a devious, kitsune-like smile that sent a chill down Kakashi's spine. "Don't thank me Kakashi." _Because you have no idea what I've got in store for you if my Shay is carrying your young._ Naruto thought darkly as he vaulted over the railing and vanished into thin air before he even touched the ground. Kakashi watched him until he vanished and blinked in surprise.

Since when had Naruto been able to teleport? That was a high level Jounin ability. Certainly not something that one could learn on their own. He wondered if maybe Naruto had picked that jutsu up from Jiraiya before he had died, then shrugged his shoulders and pushed it from his mind.

He could easily find out later when he went to see Tsunade again to update her on his new family.

He walked up the last remaining steps and stopped in front of the door and lifted his hand to knock when the door opened a little bit and one wide green eye peeked out at him almost shyly before the door opened a little bit more and Shay filled the small opening looking a little nervous.

It was good to know that he wasn't the only one nervous about today. He smiled at her from behind his mask. "Hello little sister." He said affectionately. Shay gave him an bashful smile and moved back to let him in while she muttered a soft greeting.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Kakashi asked politely as he walked past her and set the bag of food down on the kitchen counter before turning around to look at her. Shay looked much better today than she had a day or so ago when he had come by to see her. The dark circles under her eyes, weren't as dark, her skin had regained a lot of the color that it had lost after her long and exhausting night with him and she was up and moving around, so she must not be feeling any ill effects from sharing a night in bed with him.

"I slept like a rock-" Shay said with an embaressed smile as she closed the door and leaned her back against it.

"You seem to be feeling better. No fatigue? No pain or discomfort?"

"Nothing that I can't handle..." Shay said awkwardly, then cringed at the way she had worded her sentence and tried not to think about her past. But it was a difficult thing. Even though her experience with Kakashi differed on many levels, it had more or less forced her to relive _some_ painful things.

But she was a firm believer in not letting the past ruin her future and tended to push such things to the back of her mind and ignore them unless absolutely necessary.

Kakashi flinched a little bit at her words and felt like an total ass for dredging up even _one_ bad memory for her. He sighed and lifted one hand to run his fingers through his silver hair and wondered what he could say, it he could say anything at all, to make her feel better. After a second or so of thinking he decided that since she was trying so hard not to let it bother her that it would be best to simply pretend like he hadn't understood what she had meant and subtly changed the subject.

Wanting to get her mind on something a lot less painful and damaging. "So...uh, I'm sorry if this seems rude. But have you thought about my offer?"

Shay perked up a little bit and pushed away from the door and walked over to the kitchen counter as he started to unpack the food in the bag he had brought. "Yes, actually. Naruto kept me awake for an excruciatingly long time the other day to discuss it."

"Oh. And what did Naruto say?" Kakashi asked curiously, wondering what Naruto might have said.

"Naruto said that I should take you up on your offer. He said that if anything ever happened to him, at least he would know that I'm taken care of...but-"

Kakashi stopped moving about the kitchen and turned around to face her and leaned his back against the counter next to the fridge and crossed his arms and ankles and tipped his head to the side a little bit and stared at her. "But?" He prompted her to continue what she had been saying, wanting to know what was going on in that mind of hers.

"But if I said yes for that reason, or any of the others. Even if they were in my best interest, it would appear as if I'm using you. And I don't want that because it could cause problems for you later on."

Kakashi made a small sound in the back of his throat. "Listen to me very carefully Shayera. There is only _one_ person, who's opinion matters to me. Everyone else can go fuck themselves. It is my right, both as a shinobi, and as the last of my clan; to share my power, my wealth, and everything else with _whomever_ I please. Just as you have _earned_ the right to use me if that is what you wish. I know very well that you have no interest in wealth, power, titles or anything else that I can give to you. But I also know that Naruto is right. And in some small way, you are right too. Some people will think it suspicious that you are suddenly a Hatake, those people will seek to ruin you and expose you for what I know your not. A gold digger, a whore-the list is endless. However, little sister...I will _never_ allow anyone to get so close to you that they can lay their hands on you-" Kakashi said in a dangerously low tone that sent a chill down Shay's spine.

"You would kill someone if they tried?"

"Of course I would. I would do anything for my precious sister." Kakashi said pleasantly as he smiled at her from behind his mask. Shay made a funny little sound in the back of her throat and looked away from the intensity of his gaze, unsure of what to say about that. She didn't want to be the reason that someone died. She doubted that she'd be able to live with herself if he killed someone to protect her.

"T-That's v-v-very sweet of you-" Well it wasn't exactly a 'normal' sweet sentiment, knowing that he'd actually murder someone to protect her. But it was sweet in a warped, overprotective sense. Maybe."B-But I'm not s-sure if I-"

Kakashi moved away from the counter and unfolded his arms and ankles and walked around the opposite counter and stopped in front of her, already knowing what she was trying to say to him, yet seemed so nervous that she couldn't quite get the words out and reached out and placed one un gloved hand against her cheek and leaned down a little bit as she twitched and looked up at him through wide green eyes.

His lips curved slightly under his mask as he said very softly. "If that ever happens Shay, it is through no fault of your own. You are completely guilt free. So try not to worry about that, alright." She shut her mouth and nodded her head a little bit, deciding that it would be best not to argue with him.

He chuckled in amusement and tapped the tip of her nose with his index finger and straitened his spine and asked. "Alright, now that that's settled. Are you hungry?"


	53. Chapter 53

"Uh, no. No not really-" Shay said as he dropped his hand a disappointed look crossing his face. Well hell, there goes the traditional breakfast that he had planned to make for her. "I'm sorry Kakashi-san... Instead of worrying about breakfast, would you please tell me more about how you plan to adopt me? I vaguely recall you saying something about a mark, but you never really went into details." Shay said with a curious expression on her face, hoping to steer his mind as far from food as possible since she was feeling a little to anxious after her talk with Naruto to even think of eating something.

She hadn't realised just how disturbed she felt about being a 'possible' mother, until Naruto had told her everything. And he had been so calm-

Almost as if he didn't care one way or another. That eerie calmness of his had both shocked her with his willingness to take charge and give her what she needed. And hurt her. Don't get her wrong, she understood what he was trying to do, she even understood why he acted like it didn't bother him. She just wished that he would stop acting as if he wasn't bothered by such things and just be honest with her.

Kakashi blinked at her, wondering if she was really ready for this part of the talk. He didn't want to upset her so soon after she had recovered. "It's a very simple process. I designed a mark specifically for you. I use my chakra to place it on your skin. And that's it."

Shay gave him a doubtful look. He had explained the process to her as if he were explaining it to a child. Which meant that he was trying to hide something from her. "Kakashi, don't insult my intelligence by pretending that that's all there is to the process. I need to know everything. How exactly does the mark work? Will it hurt when you put it on me? I need to know."

He studied her for a second, looking serious. "Silly girl. Can't you let me do my job and protect you even from the _smallest_ of things?" Kakashi asked in a chiding tone.

Shay gave him a small smile. "The next time I run into a spider in need of killing I'll call you-"

Kakashi snorted in amusement. "Will you? Will you really?"

"Of course. I hate the damn things... Now please, tell me what it is that your trying to hard to hide from me." Kakashi's amusement faded and he sighed and ran one of his hands through his hair again.

"Very well. Placing the mark on you won't hurt since I'll be using my chakra to put it on you. It'll look like a tattoo. It will even have color. But there are...side effects to having the mark on you." Kakashi said in an uneasy tone as he waited for her to ask, 'What side effects?'.

Shay pulled a chair out at the kitchen table and sat down in it then asked. "What side effects?"

Kakashi fidgeted a little bit. Tugging at his shirt sleeve nervously for a second before he forced his hands to his sides as his gaze flickered to her face, looking for some hint of what she was thinking before he continued. So far she didn't seem upset, so maybe telling her would be okay. But he didn't want to overwhelm her. "The side effects are... You're hair will change color, from black to silver. Your canine teeth will lengthen a little bit and- That's pretty much it." He lied. There was no point in telling her that her senses would become sharper since she wasn't a shinobi and would have very little use for sharpened senses.

Shay was quiet for a second, mulling over what he said. As far as side effects went, _those_ were fairly tame. "So basically how the adoption process works is that the mark's side effects more or less erase any thing that makes someone different and allows you to think of them as family more easily-"

"Basically. But it doesn't change everything, and I can change your hair back to black at any time. It's...just easier if you look as similar to me as possible. It will help others accept you." Kakashi said gently.

"Sort of like a built in safety feature?" Shay asked out of the blue. Kakashi nodded his head a little bit, amazed by how quickly she seemed to grasp things.

"Yes. Exactly like that."

"Alright then-" Shay said after a moment or two of silence, her green eyes lifting so that she was looking at him. "Lets do this..."


	54. Chapter 54

Kakashi lifted a brow as he considered her for a moment. "Are you sure that you want to go ahead and do this?" He was worried that she may change her mind about being adopted by him later on but she surprised him by smiling and holding out her arm, wrist up.

There was no nervousness or hesitation in her, just calm resolve. "I'm sure. Go ahead." She said in a reassuring tone as he reached out and grasped her wrist in his hand and lifted it to his mouth and kissed the tender skin that he was about to mark with his chakra to show his approval in her choice then placed his other hand on top of her wrist for a second before pushing her shirt sleeve back a little bit and focusing his chakra.

Shay was perfectly still the entire ten minutes he held her wrist in his hand and poured his chakra into the mark that slowly appeared and could feel the sudden changes in her body as they happened. Her anxiety spiked for a second when she felt her teeth lengthen a little bit in her mouth, the gums ached for a moment or so. Not badly, just enough to be uncomfortable.

Kakashi noticed her discomfort and shifted his body closer to hers so that he could wrap the arm that he wasn't using around Shay's slender body and pulled her closer to him and rubbed her back as her hair slowly turned silver.

Finally after the mark was completely in place and the last of her hair had finally turned silver, he let go of her wrist and stepped back a little bit and looked her over and was struck by the most bizarre thought.

Shay had to be one of the most stunningly drop dead _gorgeous_ women that he had ever seen with her dark green eyes and her new silver hair.

She looked like a Hatake through and through! And she was now, _his sister_. He was so overjoyed, honored, happy and_ overwhelmed_ that he could have easily fainted from the excitement.

Shay picked at a strand of silver hair and studied it for a second then looked at him and blinked when she caught the look of sheer happiness on his face and nervously reached up to comb her fingers through her hair. "Do I have something on my face?" She wondered out loud.

Kakashi took his time answering her. And when he did say something he sounded a little bit like he was in shock. His voice cracked, half way through his response and he abruptly shut up and flushed a pale red. Obviously embarrassed that his voice had given out like that. Shay pretended not to have noticed and asked. "Now what?"

Kakashi coughed and cleared his throat then rubbed the back of his neck for a second. "Well... I was planning to take you shopping for some kimono's and other things, maybe take you by one of the houses that I had intended to give to you and let you look at it-" Shay opened her mouth to say something and he quickly cut her off thinking that she intended to shoot down the house idea. "You don't have to use it unless you want too. I just wanted you to see it, that's all. After that I'd probably either take you out to eat or cook you something myself, and then take you around the village and introduce you to some of the people I know."

"Oh...okay." Shay said as she started to pull her shirt sleeve down over the mark on her wrist when Kakashi stopped her by grasping her hand.

"Don't do that. People have to be able to see the mark to know that your really my sister. If they can't see it they will think that your trying to impersonate one of my clan and they'll torture and kill you for it without bothering to ask me anything about you until it's too late."

Shay looked up at him and paled a little bit and quickly pulled back and jerked her sleeve back up, nearly ripping the material in her haste. He chuckled and shook his head and grasped her hand again and ran his thumb across her knuckles in a small attempt to calm her worried mind. She looked at him again and he let go of her hand and framed her face with his hands and tipped her head back a little bit and kissed her forehead, silently marveling at how natural the action seemed to him.

"I will _never_ let that happen Shay. I merely wanted to warn you of what could happen if you covered up the mark. Now, _please_ tell me what you would like to do once we leave here." Kakashi said softly as he pulled back from her and dropped his hands away from her face. The warmth of her skin and the scent hair bringing back _too many_ vivid memories of the night he had spent with her for his comfort.

Shay chewed on her lower lip for a second then finally said, "I guess we can do some introductions and shopping, but..." He wrapped an arm around her middle and said in a rush.

"Introductions and shopping it is!" Then teleported them both out of the apartment and re appeared somewhere in the middle of the market in the shopping district.


	55. Chapter 55

Kakashi dutifully stood with his back against the dressing room wall, just outside the small room that Shay was changing in.

And looked around the shop for _anything_ that he thought she might like while he held the three kimono's that she had just finished trying on over one of his arms as he waited for her to finish up so that he could see her in the latest one that he had picked out for her.

She had looked pretty in the previous ones, which was why he wasn't putting them back on the rack. But he was a little anxious to see what she would look like in the stunning kimono that he had found just a few minutes ago while he had been prowling around the store.

The kimono in question was a soft lavender/white off the shoulder kimono with little silvery pink, purple, and pale icy blue opalescent colored sakura blossoms on it with pale mint green little butterflies scattered here and there across the fabric.

He heard the soft click of the lock being pulled and instantly pushed away from the wall and turned himself so that he could look at her and nearly dropped the stuff hanging over his arm as he stared at her with a shell shocked look on his face.

Dear god in heaven Shay was stunning!

The kimono looked as if it had been made just for her. The fabric hugged the lush curves of her body and showed off the creamy smooth skin of her neck and shoulders to perfection. Not even the small, thin scar along her jugular could ruin the way that she looked in the outfit. And the silver of her hair just added to her appeal even more.

She looked like a goddess in human form.

She fidgeted with one of the short elbow length sleeves and blushed a little bit and reached up and tugged at the low neckline of the outfit in an effort to lift the neckline a little bit.

Seemingly unaware of the way her breasts were lifted up a little bit and jiggled with the action, automatically drawing Kakashi's eye to her chest before he seemed to catch himself and lifted a hand and put it over his one eye to keep himself from gawking at her.

She was his sister now for fucks sake!

And the last time he checked, it was a _very_ bad thing to_ lust_ after your own little sister.

He peeked through his fingers to see if she had stopped fidgeting with the neckline yet and nearly died on the spot when he saw that the belt of the dress was coming undone and the lapels were slowly slipping back exposing more skin than it should have. He started to open his mouth to warn her to go back into the dressing room, but had no time.

At the same exact moment he opened his mouth, the belt came completely undone and the whole damn kimono slipped open and he made a funny little '_Ekk_' sound and grabbed her and hugged her against him in an effort to keep the kimono up and in place as he silently swore and sort of picked her up around the waist.

And carried her back into the dressing room and jerked his head band down over his other eye and let her go and slowly backed out of the room and quietly closed the door and made a strangled sound when the dressing room door rattled as it was locked.

_Oh dear god-_ Kakashi thought as he slowly lifted his head band back up from his good eye and sank to the floor among the dropped kimono's and took a deep shuddering breath.

That had to have been the closest he had _ever_ come to having an actual honest to god heart attack.

Shay leaned her back against the door to the dressing room and stared at her own reflection with a mortified look on her pretty face. That had to be the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to her before.


	56. Chapter 56

Kakashi bought several kimono's for Shay along with some fans and silk purses to match them and then left the shop to go find some other stuff and soon found himself following his sister through the crowded streets of the shopping district until something caught her eye, and he watched her wander over to a booth set up in between two dress shops.

And immediately found himself hovering behind her, looking over her shoulder at the things that had caught her attention and smiled in amusement as she picked up a hair comb made of white mother of pearl, carved into little flowers, with bigger, carved pink and white opal flower and little seed pearl accents. "This is beautiful..." Shay said in a breathless tone as she looked at the comb from all angles, smiling a little bit when the opals caught the light of the sun and flashed with lovely hues of blue, purple, green, and pale yellow fire.

"It is isn't it." Kakashi commented as he looked the hair comb over. The craftsman ship was gorgeous and so very detailed. It was the optimum of femininity.

And it would look so beautiful in Shay's silver hair. "Do you want this?" Kakashi asked curiously as he held the hair comb up a little bit. Shay blushed and looked horrified, as if it hadn't occurred to her that he might want to get it for her after what he had paid for the kimono's, fans, and purses.

Then again maybe it hadn't occurred to her that he might get them for her since she was the type of girl that simply looked at something longingly and never say anything. He waited for a moment or so to see if she would answer him and sighed and handed the hair comb to the guy running the booth and then set his earlier purchases down so that he could dig out his wallet when Shay grasped his wrist and stopped him.

"Please don't Kakashi."

"Why not?" He wondered curiously as he turned his head to look at her. She had the most adorable embarrassed expression on her face. "We are _family_ after all. And it's only natural that I'd want to spoil you." Kakashi said gently wanting her to understand why he wanted to get her such things. But she firmly put her foot down.

"That's very kind of you, but I refuse to let you get me anything else. If you did I would feel like a whor-" Kakashi moved so quickly that she didn't have time to register what he was doing until his hand was firmly over her mouth, cutting off her words as he stared down at her with a furious expression on his masked face and snapped angrily.

"_Never_. _Compare yourself to one of those again_. _You are my sister. My flesh and blood_-" And he would be damned if she ever compared herself to something so lowly again. Not when he knew all too well how much honor meant to her._ "And you will never speak of yourself in such a way again. Do you understand me?" _

Shay blinked back tears as the palm of his hand pressed against her mouth painfully and tried not to make a sound as she stared at him through wide green eyes. She'd never seen such a dark and angry expression before.

It was frightening.

_Terrifying_ even.

Yet he seemed to catch himself after a second or so and removed his hand from her mouth and looked away, with an ashamed expression on his face. "Forgive me sister, mine. But I cannot stand to hear you speak of yourself in such a manner." He said softly as he used the tip of his index finger to trace a small pattern into the wrapping of one of the packages and waited for her to say something.

Shay rubbed her hand against her mouth for a second and opened and closed her jaw to make sure that nothing was damaged. The man had a grip that could easily bend steel. "That's alright Kakashi. Believe me, I understand where your coming from-" She said after a second or so. And she did understand. Being called a whore and referring to one self as a whore was one of the most insulting things that she could think of.

But if he continued to buy things for her, and she took them, then she would feel as if he was trying to buy her. And she felt that that would make her a whore in the truest sense. "But I need you to understand that I'd much rather you didn't buy me anything. Family or not, it doesn't feel right to me. I feel too much like I'm taking advantage of your kindness."

Kakashi looked at her. Unsure of what to say for a moment. "Your not taking advantage of me-" If anyone was taking advantage of anyone; it was him taking advantage of her. He was taking advantage of the fact that she had no one.

No family. And only Naruto as a friend.

He was taking advantage of her kindness by making her feel like he would feel guilty for that night he had spent with her. And maybe in some sense he would, but as it was right now he had no regrets.

He was taking advantage of her loneliness. And the fact that if anything happened to Naruto she would be alone and without protection. And because _honor_ meant something to him as much as it mattered to her, he had taken advantage of her in the biggest way.

He had made her his family. An heiress and carrier of his name simply because he had wanted to get closer to her. To give something precious back to her after what she had done to save him.

Because he had been eaten up by his own _loneliness_ and _despair_. Because he had needed _something_ or _someone_ to help him keep living in that moment. And she had been the only person that he had met in a long, _long_ time that he had truly felt would be worthy of him and everything that he could give.

"I know that you say that now-" Shay started to say and Kakashi's lips quirked up in a small smile under his mask as he shook his head.

"I'll always mean it Shay. You could never take advantage of me. I'm more than happy to do these things for you if you would but ask." Shay studied him for a second then sighed and gave him a rueful smile.

"What am I going to do with you?" She wondered out loud and Kakashi grinned at her, his sober mood lightening a little bit.

"Let me buy you this hair comb then we'll go see if we can find some people to introduce you too." He said hopefully. Shay giggled and shook her head. Arguing with this man was pointless. He was going to shower her in gifts weather she liked it or not. So she might as well let him have his way this one last time.

Kakashi paid for the hair comb then handed it to her and watched her put her hair up before he picked up the packages and then grabbed her hand and started to lead her down the street.

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Oh kittens this was such a fun chapter to write.

Kakashi just seemed like the sort of person who would have ulterior motives for making someone a part of his family aside from guilt and honor.

So I hope that this chapter doesn't throw anyone or make anyone think too badly of our favorite copy nin.

In fact I hope that it explained a little something about his secret desires. The ones that he developed after so many years alone and hides from everyone.


	57. Chapter 57

There was a rumor going around the village, said to originate from the copy nin himself when he had spoken to the Hokage several days before, that Sharigan no Kakashi; the Copy Cat nin. The most _feared_ man in all the shinobi nations, second _only_ to the sanin-

Had a living relative visiting the Leaf village.

A cousin, said to be from a branch of the Hatake family main house.

Hyuga Hiashi sat in the meeting room at the tower with several other clan heads, listening to the council talk about what the existence of relatives with Hatake's blood, outside of the village could mean.

It could mean any number of things really.

That the family wanted to return to the leaf village. That they were dying out with the exception of the few younger generation. That they wanted to seek an alliance with Kakashi by planning an arranged marriage with one of the girls to keep the Hatake blood line pure and strong, exct.

Or it could be a trick of some sort by a neighboring village, seeking to get close to Kakashi so that they could steal his secret jutsu and other forbidden arts. Or maybe to trick him into leaving the village so that they could kill him and steal his sharigan eye.

The list of possibilities both negative and positive were staggering. Which was why everyone was in an uproar about things.

Everyone wanted to know, who this 'cousin' was. What they were doing in the village. Why they sought Kakashi after almost forty years of being apart from their beloved former village and it's people.

One clan head wanted to meet the cousin and hire him to do some assassination work, figuring that if the cousin wanted to come back to the village after so long that they wouldn't mind being useful. Another clan head wanted to know how many healthy women the branch of the Hatake family had, apparently he was thinking of maybe merging his blood line with the Hatake blood line.

Another wanted to arrange a marriage for his daughter.

Another wanted to make his daughter the cousin's concubine.

Another clan head wanted to make Kakashi's cousin a concubine- Something that many of the people in the room knew would _never_ happen since the copy nin was probably very _protective_ of his cousin already and wasn't very likely to allow any man, no matter his title or rank, to make a personal plaything of his cousin.

Even more so if the cousin they were hearing about was a _woman_.

"I say we call a meeting, including Kakashi-san and his cousin and try to gather information-" Lord Dousi said.

"I say we have a party and see if any of our children can catch the copy nin's attention, the man is old enough to settle down now, it would be good for him to have a few heirs." Another lord said, obviously not concerned about the appearance of Kakashi's long lost relative.

"I say we have this relation of Kakashi-san's investigated-"

"There's no way that Kakashi would allow that. His blood line is protected because he is the last. The laws of protection will still stand, even now, that he had a living relation." Shikaku Nara said in a bored tone he'd been trying to reason with the idiots in the room for little over an hour now, but there were just so many of them...

That they and their hair brained ideas were starting to give him a headache.

The bickering went on for a little while longer and finally, Tsume Inuzuka spoke up, and everyone quieted down.

"Here's an idea gentlemen, why don't you leave Kakashi and his cousin alone. Kakashi's family, and family affairs are none of our_ business_. We have _no_ right to demand answers. To demand to have his cousin_ investigated_, to force _marriage_, or other means of elevating your own_ social_ status on either of them. Kakashi's cousin is _his_ and _his_ alone. And he might become_ violent_ if you try to get between him and his blood kin."

"Kakashi will allow it if it is for the good of the village." One lord scoffed. Tsume got up out of her seat and growled at the man as her killing intent spiked.

These people were fools if they thought that Kakashi would give a _damn_ about the village if the fools did anything dumb that could cause the copy nin's cousin to be taken from him in any _shape, form_ or _fashion_.

Kakashi would _butcher_ entire clans if his cousin was taken from him. Because the fear of being left alone- Of being the last of the Hatake blood line once again, would _drive_ him to do terrible and monstrous things.

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Sorry it's short but it's something.

So now the news is out and everyone will be looking for Kakashi and Shay to get answers.

Awesome...


	58. sort of a funny little side chapter

An hour later-

"Should we warn Kakashi?" Tsume asked Shikaku and Hiashi as they walked through the village shopping district, heading back towards their homes. Both men snorted.

"Warn him of what exactly? Hatake-san knows about _everything_ that happens in this village. Sometimes even before anything happens at all. I'm sure that he's aware of the fuss having a living relation would cause. I'm also sure that he knows about the dangers."

Tsume turned her head and glared at Hiashi. "If Kakashi's information network is so damn good, then how come he didn't know about the fire that burned up half of Gai's home before anyone else?"

Both Hiashi and Shikaku looked at the woman and thinned their lips. Everyone and their cousin _knew_ that the Copy nin had known about the fire that had ruined Gai's home. Just like everyone knew that _Kakashi_ had been the one to set the fire.

He'd simply let things spiral out of control a little bit while he had occupied himself with his porn book. But the copy nin had done what he had set out to do. He had made sure that Gai stayed out of his hair for a few months.

Sadly though someone had blabbed to Gai about the fire and it's origins, so now Kakashi couldn't get close enough to burn it down a second time. Something that_ irked_ the copy nin greatly since he had developed a nervous tick that appeared every time he walked by Gai's newly rebuilt home.

"Um..."

"What exactly makes you think that Kakashi didn't know about the fire Tsume?" Shikaku asked curiously.

"Because he was the last one there."

Hiashi slapped a hand over his mouth and turned his head slightly as he made a funny sound then quickly covered it up with a cough while Shikaku stared at the woman. There was no way that she couldn't know that Kakashi had burned Gai's house nearly to the ground.

Even Naruto knew that Kakashi was guilty, and he was sometimes more dense than Sai.

"That doesn't mean that he didn't know about the fire Tsume. That just means that he was distracted."

"Yes well, the prospect of porn can easily distract anyone as _mystified_ by the female anatomy as Kakashi is." Hiashi said after a second or so. Shikaku snickered as Tsume glared.

"Your both insensitive fools..." Tsume growled at them before saying. "I'm going to warn Kakashi."

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Sort of a funny little side chapter.

Sorry it isn't longer. I'm trying to go over some things and update some of my older stuff. But it's sort of hard.

Soooo, try to put up with it for a little bit longer and I swear I'll make it worth it when I finally write something normally again.


	59. Chapter 59

Anko and Ibiki were the first people that Kakashi and Shay came across on their walk to see the house that Kakashi planned to give to her. Shay's first impression of Anko was that the woman had so many screws loose that she was a walking, talking, therapists wet dream.

She was just so creepy.

The giant guy with the horrible facial scars, in the black leather long coat, was preferable company to her than the woman was. He was scary, yes. But not as much as the woman staring her down like she'd like nothing more than to bury her alive. "So your Kakashi's cousin..." The woman said with a chilling smile as she looked Shay over from head to toe.

There was no way that this little girl was Kakashi's family. Everyone in the village knew that the notorious copy nin had no family left in the world. Which begged the question. Why was Kakashi escorting the silver haired, green eyed beauty around the village calling her his cousin?

Was he under a genjutsu or hypnotic suggestion of some kind?

Kakashi hung back a step or so from Shay watching the exchange between the village lunatic and the T&I interrogator cautiously. If either Anko or Ibiki tried anything he'd have to step between Shay and serious bodily harm, especially since the chance of one of them doing something to her was _very_ high since they probably thought that he was being tricked or something.

"Uh...y-yes. M-My name is Shay ma'am." Shay stuttered, not sure what else to do but introduce herself to the scary lady and her companion. The woman looked her over for a second then reached out and grasped a strand of her hair and tugged on it, hard. Shay twitched but didn't say anything.

"Ma'am, huh. You must be a real sweet talker."

"No ma'am, just polite-" Shay said without thinking as the guy in the long coat lifted his hands and did some weird sign with them. Shay didn't know much about ninja's but she knew that they relied on hand signs to help them with their jutsu. And apparently the big guy in the long coat was either trying to disperse a jutsu or create one.

She just wished that she knew which he was doing. "Ohhh, manners eh? We never had any need of those."

"Probably because your very poorly mannered to begin wit-" Shay realized what she was saying before she could finish her sentence and quickly slapped a hand over her mouth and stared at the two nins through wide horrified green eyes. Anko gave her a cold look and licked her lips, causing Shay to bristle a little bit and took an involuntary step back from the woman.

She was looking more and more like she was a snake about to drop down on some helpless bunny. And Shay had _no_ desire what so ever to be the bunny.

Kakashi inwardly chuckled at Shay's reaction to Anko and Ibiki's presence. She didn't seem terribly disturbed by them. Nor was she totally intimidated by them. She was however a little bit _irked_ by the fact that Anko had said a scathing remark about her manners. And he couldn't help but wonder if she had taken it a little bit personally.

"Maa, that's enough Anko. Ibiki, drop your hands. There is _no_ jutsu at work here-" Both nins looked at him as Kakashi stepped forward so that he was right beside Shay, and placed one hand on her slender shoulder and leaned down a little bit and kissed her cheek then said. "I think you've picked on my sister enough."

"But Kakashi you don't have-"

"Yes I do. Can't you see the resemblance between us?" Kakashi asked curiously as he wrapped his free arm around Shay's neck and held her in place while he rested his cheek on the top of her head and stared _hard_ at the other two nins, silently daring them to say anything further about his sister while he was standing _right there_.

Ibiki took the hint. Anko however-was stubborn...

"You idiot! You don't have any family left alive. This girl is lying to you!"

"She's not lying to me Anko-" Kakashi growled in a dangerously low voice as he straitened his spine and slipped his arm from around Shay's neck to play with a few strands of her silken silver colored hair, winding it around his fingers and unwinding it, as he continued speaking. "She didn't even want to tell me that we were related. _I_ was the one who sought her out and asked her to take her place as my _only_ living kin."

Anko looked like she wanted to say something else about Shay, but instead growled at Kakashi and held her hand out and snapped, "Show us the mark and _prove_ that she's your family." Kakashi smirked at them under his mask and grasped Shay's arm and extended it towards Anko and Ibiki, wrist up so that they could see the mark on her skin.

The two stared at it for a second, blinked, paled and promptly made excuses to get lost and ran off without another word. Leaving Kakashi and Shay alone again.

Until they ran across Gai...

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Ah, it's been a while hasn't it kittens.

I'm sorry about that. things are getting bad at home and it's hard to focus and every time I sit down to write my brain is hijacked by my newest additions- The Biker Mice from Mars. I've got three stories about them and I have dozens more in the works...

I hate myself.

But their just so damn cool!


	60. Chapter 60

"Kakashi my eternal rival!" Gai called out as he ran towards the two figures ahead of him.

He'd heard the people of the village talking about Kakashi's long lost relative and while he was exstatically happy for his friend, he couldn't help being a mite suspicious about said relative since everyone and their cousin knew that Kakashi was the last of his clan.

And while it may be true that some Hatake's had broken off from the village and left the country to live as nomads, that did not mean that they were still alive and thriving. The shinobi of the great shinobi nations would have found some traces of them if they still lived.

Their blood line limits were just too _powerful_ and _unique_ to not notice. Which was why he was suspicious of the person that the rumor mills were calling his friend's 'cousin' and 'sister'.

He saw Kakashi stop walking and turn his head to look at Gai over his shoulder before reaching out and stopping the small, slender framed female with him to a stop. The woman turned and looked at him-

And Gai tripped over his feet and went sprawling face first onto the ground before skidding to a stop right at the pair's feet.

Kakashi sighed and face palmed. This wasn't how he had wanted Shay to meet Gai, in fact he had been secretly hoping that he could have a little more time with her to himself before she ever even _heard_ of Gai.

Fate however, it seemed, had a different plan for him and his prescious sister today. Because lo and behold, here was Gai, laying at their feet with a face full of dirt in all his clumsy, awkward, well intending and badly dressed glory.

"Gai-san? Is that you?" Shay asked as she gracefully dropped down to her knees as Gai slowly lifted his head to look at her with a shell shocked look on his face.

"Sh-Shayera-chan?" Gai asked stupidly as the girl smiled at him. Kakashi stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, the various purchases from the shops earlier, neatly stacked on the ground next to his feet and he was watching the exchange between Gai and Shay with a sort of predatory interest that should have sent Gai running for cover.

But the man didn't even seem to remember that the Copy nin was there. His eyes were on Shay, his expression dazed. Kakashi wondered if his sudden fall had killed what was left of the man's brain cells, but kept his thoughts to himself as Shay hooked an arm under one of Gai's and helped the man up a bit. "O-Oh, S-Shay-chan...thank you." Gai said awkwardly as he gently pulled his arm free once he was sitting upright and gave the girl a strange look before glancing at Kakashi.

"Hello Gai, have you met my sister?" Kakashi asked in a dangerous tone knowing damn well that Gai had met Shayera before. He just didn't know how well Gai knew the girl or how much time she'd spent in the lunitic's presence.

Gai looked between the two of them for a second or so before stuttering a quick and nonsensical excuse and took off running.

It was one thing to meet the so called relation that Kakashi had found. It was another entirely to know who the girl in question was and _whom_ she was involved with. Kakashi via blood, and Naruto- The village jinchuuriki.

Two of the most _dangerous_ people that Gai had ever known.

He wasn't sure who to feel more badly for. Shayera who was a wide eyed innocent. Or the people who would be out for her blood to further their own ambitions. One thing was for sure.

Both Kakashi and Naruto would destroy anyone who tried to hurt her. Which meant that there would be quite a few shinobi clans in the village who were about to 'mysteriously' _die_ out in the dead of night.

Gai ran half way to his place before he finally slowed his breakneck pace and wondered if he could get sent out of the village for a long mission. He didn't want to be anywhere near the Leaf village when someone attempted to kidnap or kill Shay.

Because Naruto and Kakashi both would lose their fucking minds.

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"I wonder what _that_ was all about." Shay said with a puzzled look on her face as she stared at the dirt trail that Gai was kicking up. Dear lord she knew that ninja's were something akin to super human but the green clad man was running so fast that Shay couldn't help trying to calculate how many mph. he was running.

Then after a moment or so of careful thought decided that she didn't really want to know.

Because it would only raise more questions in her mind. Questions like, Why is his body still intact? How has his heart not exploded from being seriously over worked and strained? And after a while she would give herself a headache trying to figure these things out.

Kakashi made a humming sound but said nothing on the reason behind Gai's erratic behavior since he wasn't sure if Shay would understand. "Who knows. Gai's always been a mite..._odd_."

"Ah." Was all Shay said in response to Kakashi's words.

Kakashi looked down at her for a moment then asked, "Want to check out that house now? It's just right up the road a little bit." Shay got a thoughtful look on her face for a moment then nodded her head.

"Sure. Might as well since it's just up the road."

Kakashi smiled. "Excellent. Once your done looking around I'll take you to see Naruto before taking you back to the apartment and fix you something to eat."


	61. Chapter 61

Kakashi led the way up to the house that he wanted Shay to look at.

It was the best of the Hatake properties aside from his childhood home. It was also the house that his grandparents had lived in after they had married. Kakashi recalled vaigue stories about his father growing up in the house with his parents, then later on recalled vaigue stories of his father telling Kakashi about their visits to the house to see Sakumo's parents before they had both died.

Sakumo had used to sit Kakashi down late at night and finger comb his wild silver hair and tell him about running wild while his grandfather had tried to play a nice quiet game of peek-a-boo with him.

Sakumo had used to tell him about his grandmother trying to feed him carrots as a baby and how Kakashi would open his little mouth and as soon as the carrots was in his mouth he would spew it back out, and all over his grandmother's spotless apron and cause the woman to yell and scream for hours about how the carrots would never come out again.

Kakashi dug the key out of his pocket and quickly unlocked the door and turned to see where Shay was since she wasn't behind him like she should have been. He scanned the yard and found her a few feet from the steps of the porch. Checking out the flowers that had rescently come up and were blooming.

Kakashi's lips quirked up in a small smile. His sister did seem to have a great fondness for flowers. He set the packages down inside the door and then walked over to the corner of the porch and leaned over the rail and stared down at her as she sniffed one of the flowers, the faintest traces of a smile tugging at her lips. "They smell nice don't they?" Kakashi said idly.

The sound of his voice causing Shay to tip her head back and look up at him. And Kakashi had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the bright yellow pollen on the tip of her nose. "They smell wonderful."

"Would you believe that they were my grandmother's pride and joy aside from my grandfather and me?" Kakashi said. Shay frowned for a second and seemed to be trying to figure something out before asking.

"What about your mom or dad?"

"Well, grammy loved my mom, but she didn't care much for my dad. She was always complaining about him tracking mud through her nice clean house. And she hated it when he raided the fridge. She used to show up at our house at random around the holidays claiming that someone had broken into the house and stolen all of her fudge and cookies."

Shay laughed. "Your dad sounds like he's funny." Kakashi made a humming sound and vaulted over the porch railing, landing on the ground next to her.

"He had his moments. I think he developed a little bit of an alter ego to balance out his personality a bit. So his work wouldn't end up eating at his mind too much."

"Makes sense. My dad had a friend back home who was a homicide detective. And I can remember that he'd sometimes show up at the house with presents at random, and then he'd sit down with us and tell use funny stories. I think his job is much like yours. You protect the ones you can. You save the ones you can. And the rest show you the horrors of humanity." Shay said in a soft tone.

Kakashi blinked at her and reached out and wiped the pollen from the tip of her nose so that he could distract himself from what she had just said. Once he was done with that, he grasped her hand in his and led her around to the steps and up onto the porch then into the house so that she could see everything a little more closely.


	62. Chapter 62

The inside of the house was beautiful. Even with the cob webs and the thin layer of dust covering the few tables and chairs that she could see when she stepped through the front door. The living room was bigger than anything that she'd ever seen before. The high ceiling, the light fixtures, the color of the walls and carpet, the lay out of the room in general sent her mind into an _awed_ state.

All she could seem to do was stare in wonder.

Behind her Kakashi silently closed the door and then leaned his back against it and studied her.

Trying to gauge her reaction to the house when she suddenly turned to look at him and sputtered for a second before flushing to the roots of her hair, snapping her mouth shut and then looking away in embarrassment. Kakashi chuckled softly and settled himself in place, folding his arms over his chest while he watched Shay move a little bit farther into the room and absently ran her fingers over an soft pink opalescent light fixture shaped like a flower in bloom.

She studied it for several seconds then moved on to the nearest window and peeked through it. No doubt wondering what sort of veiw someone would have. Once she seemed appeased with that, she moved on to study the paint on the walls.

The walls on the inside of the house were a brilliant opalescent white created by Kakashi's late grandfather mixing his chakra with the chalk white paint to create something unique for his bride.

And it was unique. There was no two ways about that.

The chakra pumped into the paint that his grandfather had used to make the perfect home for his wife, had created a lovely technicolored effect with flashes of soft blue, green, pink, purple, yellow and several other colors. But most of all, even after so many years since his grandparents deaths; Kakashi could still _feel_ the love that his grandfather had felt for his grandmother.

It was there in the paint. Covering the walls.

It was in the glittering light fixtures. The hand carved cheery wood furniture.

Kakashi leaned his head back against the door and closed his eye for a moment and could almost hear his grandfather's voice. Almost.

He felt a slight tug on his shirt sleeve and opened his eye and looked down at Shay and frowned for a second. He'd have to take her aside and tell her that it was dangerous to approach him when he wasn't paying attention. But later. He'd be sure to do it later. Right now he was curious to know what she was thinking.

She had the most peculiar look on her pretty face. Kind of wary. Kind of guarded. As if she thought that having her touch the items in the house would bother him. It didn't. But only because she was his sister.

If she had been anyone else but his sister, he might have killed her for trespassing.

"Kakashi?"

"I'm alright Shay-" He said gently as he lifted one of his hands to cup one of her cheeks, lightly running his thumb along the curve of her cheek bone before dropping his hand again. "Go ahead and explore a little bit." He said as he gave her a gentle nudge away from him. Shay looked like she wanted to argue or something but decided against it and made a huffing sound before walking off to explore the rest of the house.

He stood there all nice and relaxed when he heard Shay scream from somewhere around the kitchen area and jerked himself away from the door so that he could tear through the house and find her. He didn't know what it was that had made her scream, all he knew was that she sounded very scared.

He followed Shay's scent into the kitchen and saw someone vaiguely familiar with their hands on her. Shay was looking wide eyed and frightened and was trying to jerk the wrist with his mark on it, out of said person's grasp. He threw the kunai that he had pulled a moment ago, and made an irritated sound when it hit the island between Shay and the intruder holding onto Shay.

Thinking fast Kakashi ran forward and with a loud feral sounding growl he tackled the person and dragged them down to the floor.

They hit with a dull thud followed by a stream of curses when Kakashi realised that Shay had been dragged down with them then pulled another kunai that he used to stab the hand holding onto Shay so that the intruder would let go of her.

It wasn't until Shay was pulled to her feet by another intruder that Kakashi seemed to recognise who he had just stabbed in the hand. Shikaku looked none too happy with the Copy nin as Kakashi blinked down at him, the red killing haze receding from his mind. "Shikaku?" Kakashi said in a shocked tone before turning his head a little bit and seeing Tsume and Hiashi standing against the wall a few feet away, Tsume had Shay wrapped tightly in her arms and was trying to prevent her from seeing what Kakashi was doing.

Something that Kakashi was grateful to the woman for doing since he didn't want Shay to ever see him fight someone. He wasn't sure how she'd cope if he killed in front of her.

"Are you done drawing blood Kakashi-san?" Hiashi asked in an bemused tone as he looked at Shikaku who had the most mean look on his face. Hiashi inwardly chuckled. It looked like Kakashi could expect some sort of retaliation from the shadow weilder for being stabbed here today.

Kakashi looked down at the bloody kunai in his hand and turned a bizarre green color under his mask as he jumped to his feet and ran a shakey hand through his silver hair. "Oh god Shika, I'm sor-"

"Save it Hatake. I'm already planning a revenge so sadistic that it'll drive you_ insane_ for many years to come." Shikaku snapped at the Copy nin as Hiashi moved to help him up. Tsume released Shay and let her move to check on Kakashi who was shaking a little bit before turning to Shikaku and grabbing the wrist of his wounded hand and examining the small bloody wound.

Shikaku stood perfectly still and let her examin his hand while he glared at Kakashi and planned his revenge down to the last detail. He needed something that he knew would bother the man endlessly. But there were so few things that he could use with the exception of-

Shikaku's dark eyes went to the girl and he got a devious look on his face that Kakashi no doubt noticed because one second the silver haired girl was taking Tsume's first aid kit from her so that she could treat his wound and the next Kakashi grabbed the girl around the waist and jerked her back away from Shikaku and growled. "_Don't. Even. Think._ _About. It." _

Shikaku's smile never faltered. "You know, Shikamaru is at that age-" Kakashi tightened his grip on the girl and glared at the shadow user like he'd like to stab him again. This time in a more tender area. Hiashi and Tsume fell back in silence to watch the two men and intervene to protect the girl from the two tempermental men if need be. "He's also the heir to the Nara clan. Perhaps a marriage between your cousin and my son might-"

Kakashi's eye twitched. "No."

Shay was _not_ chattle. She had a mind and will of her own and right now the only person that the Hatake would even _entertain_ the notion of handing his sister over too was Naruto.

Because Naruto was already head over heels for Shay, and she was already very much in love with the last of the Namikaze clan.

Because Naruto had told Shay about the Kyubbi and she hadn't run away from him screaming, or pulled back away from him in disgust. A match between Naruto and Shay was already all but assured. All Kakashi had to do was sit down and talk with the boy about what he wanted.

Shikaku looked a little disgruntled at Kakashi's blatant refusal. But wouldn't be swayed. Not yet at least. The Copy nin had stabbed him! He deserved to squirm.


	63. Chapter 63

Okay kittens, my short break is over. I'm updating again.

By popular demand here is the latest chapter of Melt. Enjoy.

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A little while later-

Naruto dodged Sakura's foot and jumped to the side as it collided with a tree and snapped the trunk in half. He let out a low whistle as she changed directions as he flipped himself up over her head and landed on the ground just behind her.

She threw a punch. Missed. She threw another. Missed again. Naruto grinned, knowing that she would lose her temper if things continued like this.

Especially after his comment earlier about how flat she was in the chest area, yet was so well toned on the rear. He'd even gone so far as to pat her ass just to stir her up a little bit so that she wouldn't pull her punches during their spar.

Sakura growled at him as he closed in on her, managing to use his sage jutsu to get in so close that he actually invaded her personal space and grabbed her by the front of her shirt as she brought on leg up and kicked at his ribs. He deflected the blow with his free hand and then flipped them both so that when they hit the ground, she was pinned under him.

"Time!" Yamoto called from about forty or fifty feet away, effectively ending their spar. "Good job you two."

"No problem." Naruto called back, his azure eyes not leaving Sakura's face for a second. She was still pissed at him and might still hit him if he dropped his guard any.

"Lets call it a day guys-" Yamoto was about to say when he noticed something sliver moving towards them and smiled as he caught sight of Kakashi walking up wearing a suit and carrying a bunch a bags and packages with a silver haired young woman wearing a turqouise kimono with pale pink and lavender flowers with little silvery green butterflies.

"Ah, Kakashi-sempai! We were just stopping for the day!" Yamoto called as he waved at the Jounin.

Kakashi had been sulking ever since Shikaku had insisted that he let Shikamaru go out on a date with Shay and hadn't been paying attention to much of anything after Tsume, Shikaku, and Hiashi had sat down and talked with him about what the council was planning for Shay.

To be perfectly honest he had been so out of it that he hadn't realized _when_ the three had left him alone with his new sister again.

Nor had he really _noticed_ collecting her things and more or less dragging her out of his late grandparents home and walked across the village to where team Kakashi trained. Kakashi looked towards the man and started to wave back and nearly dropped the stuff in his hands before growling in irritation and looking down at Shay and saying, "Go see Naruto."

Shay looked up at him wide eyed then glanced towards Naruto as he quickly scrambled off of the pink haired girl and moved well out of arms reach before he looked over at them and seemed to freeze as soon as he caught sight of her.

His jaw dropped open and he got a shocked/awed look on his face before snapping his mouth shut and walking towards them.

Kakashi set Shay's stuff down under a tree and straightened his spine and watched in faint amusement as the blond walked up to Shay and walked a small circle around her, studying the changes in her appearance due to Kakashi's mark before stopping in front of her and awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck and getting a slightly nervous look on his face before speaking.

"You look...pretty." Shay blushed a little bit and played with a strand of her hair and asked tentatively.

"It doesn't look weird?"

Naruto's lips curved up in a small smile as he reached out and grasped her hands and pulled them away form her hair, stopping her from fidgeting as he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips before pulling back and shaking his head. No. The silver hair didn't look weird. The little canine fangs didn't look weird.

If anything the changes in her appearance made him hotter. Not that Shay hadn't had him hot and bothered to begin with. The girl only had to look at him and he often times found himself tripping over his feet to get to her.

"No. It doesn't look weird." He said in a breathless tone as Yamoto and Sakura came walking up to see who he was talking too. The two took one look at Shay and their jaws dropped open in shock as Kakashi reached out and put his hand on top of Shay's head and cleared his throat. Some of his earlier good humor returning as he said.

"Yamoto, Sakura, meet my little sister. Shay-"

"Ann Nicole." Naruto added quickly, trying to help fill in the blanks since he doubted that Kakashi had actually bothered asking for Shay's middle names and received a subtle grateful look from Kakashi as he continued to introduce her.

"Michales Hatake." Kakashi said and then fell silent and waited for the inevitable expolosion of denial that everyone so far today had been so damn fond of. Sakura was the first one to pull herself together and held out her hand to Shay.

"Let us see the mark before we make fools of ourselves." Sakura said calmly despite the fact that Kakashi could sense that she wanted to smack him upside the head for keeping things from them again. No doubt she was thinking that if Shay was his relitive then he should have told them about her sooner. Like the other day when she had been on the training grounds with Naruto.

Naruto stepped back a little bit and watched as Shay offered her arm to the pinkette and frowned a little bit at the strange intricate design on the inside of Shay's wrist. So that was the mark that Kakashi had put on her. It was definately interesting.

Sakura seemed to think so too after she tried to rub some of Shay's skin off in an effort to make sure that it was real and not some fake tat or something. Once satisfied she apologized to Shay for ruthlessly rubbing a layer or two of her skin off and glanced at Kakashi who was staring at Shay as if waiting for her to say something about how Sakura had made her uncomfortable or hurt her or something.

**_A Hatake's instinct towards his family is so great that he would attack his own mother if she laid a hand on his siblings in violence._** Kyubbi said suddenly causing Naruto to stiffen a little then relax and tilt his head to the side a bit.

_So he is waiting for Shay to say something?_ Naruto asked just to be sure.

**_Yes-_** Kyubbi replied before saying. **_You may have to warn Sakura not to walk the streets alone for a while. Just to be on the safe side. _**

Shay smiled at Sakura and covered the red place on her wrist but said nothing. And after a second or so Naruto noticed Kakashi relax a bit and started to talk to Yamoto.

**_Then again, I've been wrong before._** Kyubbi said before falling silent again. Naruto snorted and rolled his eyes at the demon's antics and slipped an arm around Shay's slender shoulders and pulled her against his side when Kakashi turned to him and said, "Naruto later on I need to talk to you about something important."

Naruto gave the man a slightly surprised look and nodded his head. "Sure sensei."


	64. Chapter 64

Okay Chan chan I'll try.

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Kakashi and Shay had stuck around to visit for a little bit before Sakura had been called away to work at the hospital and Yamoto had left because one of his neighbors had come running up shouting that someone had flooded his apartment. Leaving Naruto, Shay and Kakashi alone together.

After which Kakashi had gathered up Shay's things and handed some of the bags and packages to Naruto and the three headed back to Naruto's apartment to eat something and talk.

Once there Naruto unlocked the door and let Shay slip inside before he and Kakashi followed her in and closed the door and started to set the bags and packages aside as Shay made her way into the kitchen and started to pull out various pots and pans.

"Shay-" Kakashi started to tell her that he'd cook so that she wouldn't have too. He wanted her to rest since he was fairly certain that she had been on her feet for too long and didn't want her to become ill because he hadn't been paying attention. But Naruto slipped up behind him and wraped an arm around his neck and put his other hand over the copy nin's mouth and hissed.

"Let her cook if she wants too. I'll make sure that she takes a long nap later on." Kakashi smacked Naruto's hand away from his mouth and then shrugged the teen's arm out from around his shoulders and with a quick swipe of his hand smacked the blond in the back of the head. Naruto laughed as Shay turned around to look at them then as soon as she turned away again, Naruto wasted no time in punching Kakashi in the stomach.

The two scuffled a little bit, smacking and punching each other until a heavy plate came flying out of the kitchen at their heads. The glass hit the wall between them and forced them both back away from each other before Shay snarled at them, _"Knock it off!" _

More than a little startled by the fact that the girl had actually thrown something at them the two reluctantly shook hands and sat down, hoping that it would appease the girl even though they had just been rough housing. Shay watched them like a hawk for almost twenty minutes straight before she started pulling out some stuff and fixing them their late lunch.

"You know I never noticed before that she watched people like that." Naruto said in a hushed tone.

"She probably got into the habit after-" Kakashi started to say what had happened but stopped himself as Naruto gave him a peculiar look that Kakashi got the impression didn't bode well for his health if he continued. Besides that, the copy nin wasn't sure just how much of her past Shay had shared with Naruto and wasn't feeling terribly obligated to say anything about what he knew. So instead he changed the subject a bit hoping to distract the blond. "She'll be a wonderful mother. Don't you think?"

Naruto subconsciously tensed up for a moment as he considered Kakashi's words. His mind going a mile a minute. Had Shay mentioned the little slip up that he had pointed out to her earlier?

Kakashi wasn't _acting_ abnormally, not in that 'oh shit I've fucked up' sort of way.

There was no panic, no worry, no...excitment. Naruto looked away from his former sensei and glanced at Shay. She wasn't acting strangely either. So maybe she hadn't mentioned anything to the copy nin after all. Naruto took a deep breath as he mulled over Kakashi's question and imagined Shay as a mother.

He imagined her chasing a toddler through his apartment laughing and giggling before catching it and swinging it up in her arms and kissing it's rosey little cheeks. He imagined her reading bed time stories to it and fixing it lunch and walking it to school on it's first day then sticking around to make sure that it was okay.

God he could see it all so clearly. See everything so vividly that it made his heart ache a little. "Yeah. She'd be a good mom." Naruto finally said, his eyes never leaving Shay's back as she worked.

Kakashi smiled faintly. "Do you see her with little blond babies? Do you see her with _your_ babies, Naruto?" Kakashi asked curiously. Naruto finally looked away from the girl's back and looked at him.

"What's it to you?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I told you before that I wanted to talk to you about something important."

"What does asking me these sorts of questions have to do with anything Kakashi?"

"Everything, Naruto. Everything. You love Shay right." Naruto nodded his head wondering what Kakashi was trying to get at. This didn't seem like the normal conversations they'd had before. This seemed deeper. More life altering.

"Alright then. To be perfectly honest with you, things in the following months will be difficult for Shay."

"Because she's your family now-"

"Yes. I was told earlier today that a number of clans and their heirs have big plans for Shay. And not all of them very pleasant. So it would be in Shay's best interest to have a fiance. Someone that many people would be _intimidated_ by. And as her brother, it's my job to find someone suitable for her. You know?"

Naruto's heart leapt up into his throat as it dawned on him what Kakashi was asking him. "Are you asking me what I think you are Kakashi?"

"I am-" Kakashi confirmed as he slowly nodded his head. "If Shay will have you that is. You don't have to marry right away, your still young after all. But as her fiance I would expect you both to move closer to me and you would have to be seen together at certain formal affairs. Do you think you can do that?"

Naruto's mouth went dry and he silent ly nodded his head. Oh yes, he could do this. He could do anything if it was for Shay.

Kakashi smiled at him. "Good. We'll talk to her about it over lunch and plan accordingly from there. If your lucky by this time two weeks from now I just may be throwing you an engagement party."


	65. Chapter 65

Shay dropped her fork and gaped at the two nins sitting across the table from her with a look of comical disbelief on her face as she stuttered. "M-M-Married?" Kakashi wanted to arrange a marriage for her. With Naruto?

Kakashi nodded his head and took a small bite of the food that she had cooked as Naruto set his fork down and studied her for a second. His azure blue eyes turned a stormy grey blue and took on a slightly calculating light before he looked away. His expression shuttered.

He suddenly wasn't so sure about this idea of Kakashi's. Shay looked as if she'd like to reject the idea. And that hurt him a little bit.

"Yes. You recall our running into Shikaku, Tsume and Hiashi earlier right?"

"Uh...y-yeah." Shay finally manage to pulled herself together enough to croak. Kakashi set his fork aside and leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Do you recall what they said about some of the lords in the village?"

"No. I actually wasn't paying attention." Shay said as she flushed a little bit and started to fidget with her sleeve. Kakashi narrowed his eyes at her a little bit and huffed. God. Why couldn't anything ever be easy?

"Why not?" He asked curiously.

"I thought that you might be discussing top secret ninja stuff so I stopped paying attention." Kakashi blinked at her as Naruto turned his head so that he was looking at her again. A slightly bemused look on his face.

"Shay, sweetheart if they had been talking top secret stuff; they would have used code." Naruto said. Shay flushed a little more and Kakashi sighed.

"Alright then, let me explain. Shay please pay attention. There are some lord associated with the village and some with in the village that feel that they have a right to use you to further their ambitions. They will lie to you, cheat you, try to turn you against me, Naruto and anyone else that you are attached too. They will do anything that they can to isolate and seperate you from us. They would even commit heinous crimes to gain what they want."

"They would drug you, sell you, break you-"

"_Enough_-" Shay nearly shouted, effectively silencing Kakashi. "I'm not stupid. I already know those things! That was part of the reason I needed to think about your offer." Kakashi blinked at her as Naruto _cringed _when Kakashi slowly turned his head and looked at him through narrowed eyes.

"Ah. _I see_. So these things occurred to you." Was all that Kakashi said as he stared at Naruto like he'd like to stab him with his fork. Which was why Naruto reached out and quickly grabbed it off of his plate and threw it across the room.

"Of course these things occurred to me. I may not know much but from what I understood from my talk about your offer, with Naruto, I gleaned that you are a very important person here in the village. Probably close in rank to royalty in your own way. And as such you probably grew up dodging the plans and manipulations of others. You refused to be used by them, so it would make sense now that another of your line has shown up...for them to shift their attentions from you to the person that they would expect to be weaker willed. This is especially so because I'm a woman-"

Kakashi and Naruto looked at her in surprise as she continued.

"They probably feel that I have no mind or will. That they can direct me and use me as they see fit..." Kakashi put his hand up to stop her his mind abuzz with excitment. Well, well, well. His adopted sister definately _had_ thought about this stuff. Which meant that with the right people around her she could easily avoid being a means to an end for anyone.

"Yes. That is all true. Which is why I suggested that you and Naruto become engaged-" Shay started to open her mouth to tell him off, he could tell by the dark look on her face that she still didn't really understand why he would suggest an arranged marriage between her and Naruto.

It was for two reasons. One) Naruto was already head over heels in love with her. And two) No one in the village would dare cross Naruto for fear that he might unleash the Kyubbi on them.

She would be safe from anyone seeking to make her a concubine to a lord or from anyone seeking to dishonor her and force her into a situation that could possible destroy her. Kakashi could handle everyone else himself.

"You wouldn't have to marry right away. After all your both still young, but as long as others know that Naruto will be your husband and a part of my clan through you-"

"Basically you want me to use Naruto- No the _demon_ inside of him as my sheild." Kakashi gave her a stunned look as she slowly got up out of her chair and put her hands on the table and leaned in a little bit. Naruto got an alarmed look on his face as Kyubbi yelled in his mind.

**_Danger! Danger! Run away! _**

Kyubbi's idea sounded like a damn good one. Which was why Naruto quickly jumped out of his seat and ran into the kitchen and ducked down behind the island and then peeked up over the top so that he wouldn't miss what happened next.

Shay was so close to Kakashi now that she could have lip locked with him if she hadn't been giving off a considerable amount of killing intent. And Kakashi, looked eerily calm in the face of Shay's wrath. Which Naruto knew from experience was a huge mistake since the girl got down right mean when she was of a mind too. And it was starting to really look like she was of a mind too.

Naruto could understand why. Kakashi's idea offended her on some level. And though Naruto found it a little bit flattering that she was upset on his behalf, he was never the less also very scared.

"I refuse to use Naruto in such a manner. He deserves better than being used like the village uses him. To intimidate and frighten others into submitting to your villages will. I'll handle the vultures on my own. You don't like it- Tough." And with that Shay reached out in a quick motion that Kakashi apparently never saw coming, and pushed his chair back and caused the copy nin to fall to the floor before she stomped off.

Naruto flinched a little bit when the bedroom door slammed and then looked at Kakashi like he was a monster as the copy nin sighed and folded his arms over his chest again and lay there on his floor before saying, "That went well."

Naruto snorted and supressed the urge to_ growl_ at the man like an animal. _Bastard._

Of course he would think that things had gone well. He didn't have to live with Shay and deal with the after math.


	66. Chapter 66

Naruto knocked on his bedroom door two hours after Shay had stormed out of the room and nervously chewed on his bottom lip as he waited for her to open the door.

He'd been reluctant to leave her alone for the past two hours, but had figured that it was best to give her some time to cool down before he went to check on her. Which had left him two hours to deal with Kakashi whom had both been _amused_ by her anger towards him, and _devastated_.

The bastard had lain where he had fallen for about an hour before muttering something about 'taking a journey' and running off. Frankly Naruto hoped that someone kicked the son of a bitch in the head more than once, if there was any justice in the world, for the trouble he'd caused the blond today.

He heard the faint sounds of movement on the other side of the door and lifted one hand to protect himself, just to be on the safe side, as the door cracked open and Shay peeked out for a second before moving away.

Naruto waited for a moment just to be sure that she wasn't going to try throwing a shoe or something at him then tentatively reached out and pushed the door open and peeked inside.

Shay was sitting on his bed with a pillow in her arms, _glaring_ at his wall. "Shay? Baby, are you okay?" Naruto asked, a concerned note in his voice as he stepped into the room. Shay turned her head and looked at him and he nearly went scrambling out of the room when she said.

"Of course I'm not okay. It's not like I don't understand Kakashi's reasoning. And it's not that I don't want to marry you someday...but-" Naruto looked at her curiously and held himself perfectly still. "For him to suggest that I become engaged to you, and _use_ you as a shield... It implies that I have no feelings for you at all. It's _cruel_. Ya know?"

Naruto sighed and walked over to the bed and dropped down next to her and reached out and took one of her hands in his and kissed her knuckles then said very softly. "If it's you Shay, then I don't mind." And it was true, Naruto didn't mind being used by Shay. If it was for her protection, her happiness and well being then he would endure anything.

"But I do, Naruto. You aren't a tool, a shield, or a weapon. You're a _person- MMM!_" Naruto cut Shay off by turning and pinning her to the bed as he gave her a deep, hungry kiss that stole her breath and curled her toes and didn't come up for air until his lungs began to burn.

He pulled back from her a little bit and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him as he skimmed his lips along the curve of her cheek, then kissed her temple, her forehead-

He raised himself up on his elbows and smiled down at her. "Your amazing Shay-" She blinked at him, not really understanding what he meant. "You don't see me as a monster, a weapon of mass destruction, or an unstopable killing machine. You have to be one of the few people in the world that see's me as nothing more than an ordinary person. Do you know how rare that is? How amazing it is?" Shay shook her head from side to side, slowly. Her eyes wide.

Naruto grinned at her. "It's like I'm holding one of the seven wonders of the world in my arms... It's a feeling that is so rare that once it's experienced, I'll do anything _humanly_ and _inhumanly_ possible to hold onto it. Even if it means giving up my life. My soul and my humanity."

Shay stared at him wide eyed for a second as she flushed a fetching pink and looked away from a second, embarrassed before saying. "That should be one of your wedding vows."

"I'll write it down right this second if you'll just say yes."

"Your a sneaky guy Naruto." Shay said in a semi teasing tone as she looked at him again. Naruto gave her a kitsune like smile and leaned down until their faces were a scant hairsbreath apart and said in a husky tone.

"You think I'm bad now, wait until I finally manage to talk you out of your pants."

Shay snorted. "Idiot. I'm not wearing pants."

Naruto gave her an evil smile and slipped one of his hands under the fabric of her skirt and lightly ran his hand along the inside of her thigh and made a humming sound. "Hmm. How about that. You aren't."

Shay smacked his chest playfully and he laughed. "Dork. Knock that off."

Naruto got off of her and flopped down onto the mattress next to her and grabbed her hand and sombered. "Your answer Shay. Will you have me?" She opened her mouth to say something and he covered her mouth with one of his hands and said, "If I don't hear the answer I want, I'll sic granny Tsunade on you."

Shay pushed his hand away from her mouth and made a soft growling sound. "That's so evil of you."

"Thanks. I try."

"So I guess I don't really have much of a choice."

Naruto hummed again. "That's not true. You could say no again and give me the chance to seduce you." Naruto said in a hopeful tone that really caught Shay's attention. Poor Naruto. They had been living together for months and loved each other yet they hadn't done anything together.

He must be starting to feel very frustrated. "I'll say yes on one condition-"

Naruto sighed and threw his arm over his eyes and said in a dramatic fashion that nearly had her in hysterics. "You want me to make out with Lee don't you? Or is it that you want me to dress in a little sailor outfit and let you take pictures of me in sexy poses? Oh dear god, I can't stand it- It's just so humiliating!"

Shay rolled over onto her side and buried her face against the sheets to stiffle her laughter and after a moment or so finally managed to pull herself together enough to finally look at him and suddenly blurted out. "Make love to me."

Naruto made a small choking sound as he turned his head to look at her from under his arm. Well hell of all the things that he had expected her to say, _that_ had been at the bottom of his list.

It was also the one thing that caused him to reach his breaking point.


	67. Chapter 67

Oh kittens I have some crazy shit going on here at home that is affecting my work, updating these stories. And I'm about to go off the deep end because of it.

The other day I went to my seizure doctor and he decided to switch me over to a different medicine. Because apparently five episodes isn't good at all. But in comparioson to 230 a day, it's flipping heaven to me.

Anyways he switched me onto a med that in the past few days has caused severe depression, violent behavior, irritability, panic attacks, lack of focus, loss of interest and other things that I just cannot deal with.

I know that it's only been a few days, but I feel like I'm going out of my mind. My next appointment with the sorry bastard is six weeks away and I just know that if I have to wait that long to do something, I'll die.

I will _literally_ die because suicidal tendencies is one of the extreme side effects. And I have a little bit of a history already.

So tonight I'm switching back over to my regular old meds. I trust them more anyways. And if my doc has a problem with me switching back, then I'll switch over to a more intellegent doc who actually knows what they are doing.

Anyways...here is what I hope will be a decent chapter of Melt. Some of you might be a little bit disappointed in it, but don't be. I have a plan-

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Naruto walked out of the bathroom dripping wet with a towel around his shoulders and another one around his waist as he made his way back to his bedroom where Shay was waiting for him. No doubt feeling rejected and hurt, wondering why he had rushed out of the room after what she had said to him earlier.

He paused outside the bedroom and put one hand flat against the wood and debated with himself on whether or not he sould go in and explain to her why he had run out of the room so quickly.

But after several moments decided against it.

He was too painfully aroused. His control was in tatters. He wasn't sure he'd be very gentle with her if he walked in. In fact he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep his hands off fo her period. Her innocent words earlier had broken down ever barrior of patience and understanding he had and driven all sane thought from his mind.

It had caused his body to react instantly, intensely to it's mate's presence. The reaction had been so strong that for a brief moment he had been frightened that he might actually force himself on her. And had instinctively run away from her to put some spcae between himself and tempation and try and calm himself down.

He felt a little better now. A mite shaken, but okay. Apparently knowing that there was a steady supply of frigid water and a heaven wooden locked door between him and her, helped settle the heat pulsing through his blood a little bit.

He dropped his hand away form the door and turned and walked away from the bedroom. Worried about what might happen if he peeked into the room to check on her. He walked down the hall to the living room and sat down on the couch and sighed.

It was beginning to look like he'd be spending the next few nights sleeping on the couch until he could figure out what to do. Hopefully Shay wouldn't be too _pissed_ at him for more or less leaving her hanging.

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Shay waited in the bedroom with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she waited for Naruto to come back. Then after two hours finally gave up. She wanted to be pissed at his reaction to her words earlier, but she just couldn't be.

It had been his expression as he had left the room. He'd looked so..._terrified _that for a moment she had wondered if he had left because the demon inside of him was acting up or something.

And if that was the case then he must have left the room to protect her from himself.

Which gave her cause not to be terribly upset with him.

She lay down on the bed after noting the time. She got the feeling that Naruto might be avoiding her later on at dinner. And maybe even for the next few days after. She sighed and decided to take a nap so that she wouldn't feel so emotionally frustrated later on when she finally asked Naruto what his problem was.

She slept a lot longer than she had meant too. And finally managed to drag herself from bed at seven forty five and had sat there for a moment wondering what she should do next when it occurred to her that if she wanted Naruto to make love to her, then maybe she could try tempting him until he gave in.

She got up off of the bed and walked over to the closet and pulled out a nice shirt and short skirt that she had never worn before and smiled a little bit as she stripped off her kimono and changed.

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Naruto had spent the last few hours sitting in his living room trying to occupy himself with TV, music, meditation... He practiced a few seals.

And finally at about eight thirty heheard the bedroom door open and close and automatically dropped what he was doing and run over to his couch and hurriedly sat down and quickly flew through the hand signs to bind himself to his seat. And then just to be sure that he wouldn't be able to move, anchored it to the floor with invisible chains as strong as diamonds and waited.

Shay came walking out of the hall way wearing her normal clothes, and he felt his plood pressure shoot through the roof as all the blood rushed from his head. _Oh dear god_. Her shirt was a cute teal and black butterfly pattern wrap around shirt that tied on both sides, just an inch or so from the hem. Naruto's mouth started to water as he stared at her shirt.

He could already picture himself walking up behind her and untying one of the sides and slipping his hand inside the fabric to play with one of her breasts. He cut the thought off abruptly and glanced down at her skirt and felt his breath leave his lungs.

Her skirt was shorter than anything he recalled her ever wearing before. The cotton fabric just barely falling past her hips, showing her long slender, shapely legs. His blue eyes flickered back up to her face and he licked his lips as he realized what Shay was doing dressed in such a provocative manner.

She was either trying to seduce him, get revenge for how he had acted earlier, or she was trying to kill him.


	68. Chapter 68

Yo- here is the next chapter of melt. I just wanted to say not to feel discouraged by the lack of a lemon. I have a few things mentioned at the start of the story that I need to bring into play again and wrap up before Naruto can get busy with his love.

So hold on. I swear it's coming up.

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Shay gave him an innocent look then smiled and walked towards the kitchen before Naruto managed to croak, "Shay, darlin what are you doing?" She stopped walking and turned around to look at him.

"Doing? I'm not doing anything, Naruto dear." Shay said innocently before turning away again and walking into the kitchen as Naruto groaned and buried his face in his hands. Crap. She was pissed at him. He could tell by the way that she was acting.

_So explain to her why you ran away from her dumbass. _His mind hissed at him. He muttered under his breath and dropped his hands away from his face.

"Shay, baby, please let me explain why I sort of freaked out on you earlier-" Shay stopped moving around in the kitchen and gave him a look from over the counter, giving him her undivided attention. "It's not that I don't want to be intimate with you. In fact the more I think about it the _hotter_ I get-" Which was sort of half of his entire problem. "I left you alone earlier because I felt myself dangerously close to jumping you. It sort of scared me, so I left to put some distance between us because I didn't want to accidentally hurt you..."

The top of Shay's head disappeared behind the counter and she sighed. _Crap_. Knowing Naruto's reason for fleeing earlier made her feel petty for dressing so slutty just to torture him.

_God I'm such an insensitive bitch._ She thought darkly as she looked down at herself, her earlier vindictiveness slowly bled from her mind leaving her feeling more than a little embarrassed about her behavior.

She didn't normally do things like this. For any reason.

But she had been able to supress the small grain of saddness and doubt that had morphed into irritation. It simply couldn't have been helped, she supposed. Naruto had told her that he loved her in every way conceivable to the human mind. Even after the night she had been with Kakashi, he _still_ said he loved her.

When he had run out of the room earlier it had felt as if he was rejecting her on every level. She couldn't lie to herself- That had hurt her. Perhaps more than anything else that had ever happened to her. Still...

She felt herself flush and curled up on the floor and glared at the stove. She needed to go get out of this embarrassing outfit or Naruto would suffer more since it was obvious that he was still trying hard not to do something that could hurt her.

And having her parade around in front of him in her current outfit wasn't helping him any. "Naruto-"

"Yeah."

"I'm a little pissed-"

"I'm aware-" Naruto said somberly as she shifted and moved so that she could peek over the top of the counter again. Their eyes locked for a second. Stormy sapphire and dark green. "And you have every right to be pissed." He said after a second or so. Shay stared at him for a second then slowly shook her head no.

"That's not what I mean, Naruto. Although I will amit I was feeling a mite bitchy a few minutes ago."

Naruto gave her a wary smile and said in a half joking tone. "Just a mite, huh? I suppose that's better than 'more' than a mite. As it is I'm fearing for my life." Shay didn't laugh although Naruto got the impression that she wanted too, and shut his mouth and calmly waited for her to tell him what she was thinking.

"I don't feel so bitchy now so you don't have to fear for your life anymore-" Naruto cocked his head a little bit to the left but wisely kept his mouth shut. "I'm just a little pissed because I went to all this trouble to make you squirm-"

"You're doing a wonderful job of it. I'd squirm more but everytime I so much as twitch it feels like I'm being sawed in half."

Shay frowned and wondered what he meant then shook her head and continued with what she had been saying a second ago. "And now I feel so embarrassed that I need to go change my clothes again."

Naruto let his head fall back against the couch and closed his eyes and sighed before muttering. _"Damn but that is a shame. I like that outfit." _

Shay stood up and walked out of the kitchen and stopped in front of him and fidgited for a second, earning a curious look from the blond. "Something wrong?" He asked curiously as he lifted his head and looked at her.

She looked like she wanted to say something, then leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek like she always did when she was done being upset and then walked back down the hall way to change her clothes. Naruto let his head drop back again and sighed. Well that was half of a crisis averted. Now all he had to do is figure out a way to keep himself from jumping her and then everything would be perfect.

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Tsunade had just put her work aside for the day so that she could relax when Kakashi came barging into her office. The blond sighed then gave the copy nin a dirty look, wondering why he was disturbing her when he walked up to her desk, sat down on the corner and said in a sing song voice that had her eye twitching in zero point two seconds. "_Guess who's getting m-a-r-r-i-e-d in two weeks._"

He sounded so cheerful and happy. It set the kage's teeth on edge. "You." She said in a slightly hopeful tone. Hoping that he had finally decided to settle down. Kakashi looked at her for a second then laughed.

Okay, so it's not him. Not unless he was playing a really _sadistic_ joke on someone. "Okay, you got me. Who?" Tsunade said tiredly.

"My sister."

Tsunade looked at him wide eyed for a moment. "I'm waiting for the punch like Kakashi."

"There is no punch line, my lady. I'm arranging for the girl to be married to a suitable man of worth."

"Is that so?" All those lords will be pretty bummed by this little snipit of news. Tsunade thought in wary amusment before asking Kakashi who he was marrying the girl too and nearly died on the spot when he grinned at her and said her precious little gaki's name.

_Oh dear god-_ So that was why the copy nin had come straight to her. He needed her help for something.


	69. Chapter 69

_"Because Naruto is the person I've deemed worthy of being one of my brothers, I need to ask you one or two tiny favors Lady Tsunade." _

_The woman stared the copy nin down without blinking. "What will happen if I refuse?" She was already getting a headache. And aside from her gaki possibly coming straight to her office and throwing the hugest hissy fit in the history of hissy fits if she refused; she didn't want anything to do with Kakashi's scheming. _

_Kakashi's playful manner melted away and he reached up and pulled his headband away from his Sharigan eye. Tsunade caught sight of the pale skin of his scarred eye lid as it opened to reveal the crimson spinning wheel around his pupil. _

_Tsunade might have gasped. Or at the very least looked at him in shock because showing her his Sharigan for any reason outside of the hospital or a mission could easily be considered a threat of physical harm against her and the village. _

_Kakashi stared at her with his mismatched eyes and said in a very calm manner, "You don't want to know." _

_She blinked and took a deep shuddering breath. "Can I take the action of showing me your eye as a threat?" _

_"Not against you." _

_"Well that is something I suppose." Tsunade as she reached up and very carefully pulled his headband back down over his eye. She started to pull back once she was done but Kakashi's hand around her wrist, stopped her and he said in a low warning tone._

_"However my willingness to show my eye means that I've resolved to shed blood over this matter if I feel I must." Tsunade looked at him wide eyed, partially understanding the man's feelings. _

_Crap. _

_She'd have to help him out with his favors and hope that when the village went up in flames no one knew that she had had anything to do with him and whatever he was planning. "Alright Kakashi-" She said as he let go of her wrist. "Tell me your favors." _

_Kakashi smiled at her- and a chill ran down her spine as he told her what he needed her help with and why. _

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it's short i know but this was just a msall filler chapter. i'll have another up in a little bit that takes place after a two week time skip


	70. chapter 70

Kakashi looked over the last two invitations in his hands, on top of the two boxes that he was carrying, with a critical eye. It had been two weeks since he had drafted Tsunade to help him organize everything for Naruto and Shay's engagment party while looking over the old laws that the council had passed way back when Naruto had been just a tyke.

The laws stating that he couldn't become sexually active and such.

Both Kakashi and Tsunade had poured over the old documents for over three days before noticing and realizing that Sarutobi's signature at the bottom had been forged. The two had looked at each other and smirked evilly.

Knowing that the signiture had been forged would make it easier to abolish the laws that should never have been passed, or _enforced._ And with a new one in effect Naruto's hopes and dreams of finally having the family he had secretly wanted since he was a child was that much closer to his grasp.

Kakashi giggled. He was so giddy about the party tonight that he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold his tongue about what he and Tsunade had done. He'd always wanted to do something about the laws that had caused so much _pain_ and _grief_ for the biiju container but had thought it hopeless due to the fact that the third Hokage had signed the papers.

And though he had always thought it odd that the late Kage had set forth something that could do so much damage to the boy. Especially when he had loved Naruto like his own grandson. As a shinobi of the village, Kakashi hadn't dared to look too closely or question the laws that had been passed. He hadn't wanted the elder to think he was a traitor by questioning his motives.

But towards the end Kakashi had found himself questioning the elder a little bit. Mainly because the man's mind had slipped dangerously. Kakashi supposed that that was why the elder had never done anything about the laws passed in secret.

The council had taken advantage of his memory slips and forgetfulness to do as they pleased. Then later on if Sarutobi had _asked_ them anything about the laws they could have lied and said that he had passed them for the sake of the village.

Which was another reason why he and Tsunade had been so pleased to find that the signature wasn't his. It meant that they could make the laws null and void and create a new one that stated that anyone stupid enough to attack Naruto or his mate, would be dealt with with_ lethal_ force.

And Naruto wouldn't have to worry about retribution from the villagers, council or the lords that ran the village. Because after tonight, many of them would be stripped of their power and titles.

He giggled again as he reached Naruto's apartment building and started climbing the stairs to deliver the boxes and invitations.

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Naruto was close to having a panic attack. And who could blame him? Everything had seemed so normal a second ago.

He had been sitting at the table talking to Shay. Drinking in the whole domestic scene like he did every morning, talking about their wedding and what she would like done. Even though it had been two weeks since he had wrangled an agreement out of her to be his wife, he was still having some trouble wrapping his mind around it.

Shay had been cooking their breakfast while they talked. Telling him that she wanted a cozy wedding. _His_ friends.

No one else.

It had occurred to Naruto that he was being insensitive about things since Shay didn't have any friends in the village that he knew of. She had people that she sometimes talked too aside from him and Kakashi. But no one that she could truly consider her friends.

And with her family no where around, she had to feel more than a little bit lonely and out of place. He'd been about to apologize to her when he had noticed that she started swaying a little bit where she stood.

She had lifted an hand to her forehead and said, "Oh that's not good-"

And then before Naruto could so much as ask her what was wrong she had crumpled to the floor. He'd been out of his chair and next to her a split second later with his heart in his mouth as he had slipped an arm under her slender shoulders and gently lifted her partially off of the floor and systematically started checking to see what was wrong with her.

He'd been relieved to see that she was still breathing. Her pulse was steady and strong. But she wasn't moving. "Shay..." He brushed her silver hair back from her face then patted her cheek, trying to wake her up.

It took two minutes longer than he would have liked. And that two minutes felt like an eternity to him, but Shay finally groaned and twitched as she slowly came around. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him for a second as he scooped her up and stood and then carried her into the living room and set her on the couch.

"Stay there and rest." Naruto ordered as he straightened his spine and then walked back into the kitchen and finished cooking their breakfast.

His mind going over various things that he knew would cause a person to collapse so suddenly. Stress, fatigue, illness- The list was nearly endless. Which was perhaps as worrying as the fact that Shay had collapsed in the first place.

He frowned a little bit as he turned over the pancakes then shut off the eye and turned around to see if Shay was doing as he had said. She was still laying down so that was something, he supposed. "How are you feeling?" He asked as he walked out of the kitchen and made his way back over to the couch.

"Sort of sick." Shay said automatically. Naruto stopped next to her and dropped to one knee and reached out and put one hand against her forehead. She didn't _feel_ feverish. And she was a little bit pale, but not in a way that was alarming to him.

"How long have you been feeling sick?"

"A few days or so."

Naruto was quiet for a second as he wondered what could have happened in the past few days to make Shay feel ill? He was about to ask her something else when he heard a knock on his door and wound up biting his tongue as he snapped his mouth shut. That was probably Kakashi again. Ever since adopting Shay the man had been sticking unusually close to Naruto's apartment.

He invited himself to breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner, late night snacks. He left his shoes, his vest, his weapons and his Itcha-Itcha books laying just inside the door every other day or so.

It was as if he was subtly trying to move into the apartment. It was starting to frustrate Naruto greatly since he wanted more alone time with Shay. He sighed and looked at the door then back at Shay then leaned down to give her a quick kiss and was more than a little startled when she suddenly pushed him away causing him to lose his balance and fall as she bolted up off fo his couch and ran down the hall with a hand over her mouth.

Yeah...he needed to get rid of Kakashi and go see if she was okay.


	71. Chapter 71

Naruto got more and more of a sinking feeling as he walked over to the door and opened it to see what his former sensei wanted. The second the door was open Kakashi gave him a creepy happy grin and walked in while saying, "Good morning Naruto." In that annoying sing song voice he used when he was up to something.

Naruto instantly narrowed his eyes at the man's back and wondered how anyone could believe that he had a _good_ poker face. He may keep his expression more or less blank, but the tone of his voice was a definite tell.

Naruto made a throaty little sound of irritation as Kakashi set the stuff in his hands down on the couch and then looked around.

No doubt wondering why Shay wasn't around doing her normal morning routines. They both heard the sounds of wretching coming from the bathroom and Kakashi turned his head and looked at Naruto wide eyed while Naruto cringed.

_Fuck_. Naruto mentally swore.

He should have dragged the copy nin out of the apartment already. Now he'd never get rid of him and Kakashi would want to stick around and try nursing Shay back to health. And that may end up doing more harm than good since the copy nin didn't have a nurturing bone in his whole _frigging_ body.

"Naruto-"

"_Quiet_. Sit down and shut up and let me go check on her already." Kakashi snapped his mouth shut and gave Naruto a look that practically screamed, 'I'm gonna hurt you if you don't watch your step' but sat down on the other side of the couch and folded his hands in his lap as Naruto closed the door and then ran out of the living room, back to the bathroom and gently knocked on the bathroom door.

"Shay? Honey, are you okay?"

Shay didn't say anything though Naruto caught the sound of a groan from somewhere on the other side of the small room as second or so before the door opened a crack and Shay peeked out looking pale and just a little bit shakey and said in an embarrassed tone, "I threw up."

Naruto pushed the door open a bit more with his hand and once he had enough room stepped into the bathroom and used a foot to push the door closed behind him while he pulled her into his arms and held her for a few seconds. He rubbed her back for a moment then let her go so that he could lean back against the door to think when Shay asked him something that made his heart almost stop in his chest.

"Naruto...what's todays date?"

He looked at her wide eyed for a second then did some quick calculations in his head and paled a little bit when he realized that it had almost been a month since Shay and Kakashi had- _Oh shit. _

"Shay, have you had your period yet?" He asked and flattened himself against the door when she gave him a mean look before growling at him.

"That is a _rude_ question to ask a woman..." She got quiet for a second the took a shuddering breath and looked at herself in the mirror over the sink. Naruto could practically see the gears in her head turning. Calculating. He took her silence as a no on the period thing as she got a panicked look on her face and started to hyperventilate and muttered under her breath.

_"Oh god. Oh god how could I forget about that- I can't be- Could I? But I haven't had my period yet and it's past due for it-" _

"Shay, honey, _calm down_." Naruto said as he reached out and grasped her wrist. She jerked around so quickly that she almost lost her balance and fell. Luckily he caught her to keep her from falling. But she was really freaking out.

Not that he could blame her any. He'd be freaking out too if he hadn't already been prepared for the possibility. "I don't know if I can do this.. Naruto, I don't think I can- _Oomm!"_ Naruto hated seeing Shay panicing like this so he did the only thing that he could think of to stop her silly rambling and kissed her hard, stealing her breath and all coherent thought from her mind as he lifted his mouth from hers and then framed her face in his hands.

"You listen to me Shay, you can do this. You will do it. I'll help you so you won't be doing this alone. I know this is scary- Life altering and terrifying, but if you _are_ honey, this baby will have more love and affection than it will know what to do with... And if it makes you feel any better; I'll teach it to punch Kakashi in the nuts every time it sees him. So he can share the experience..."

Shay made a slight distressed sound and he kissed her again then pulled her close and held her and talked to her until she was feeling better. It took ten minutes. And Naruto was interrupted three times by Kakashi when he knocked on the door and asked if everything was okay. But inevitably Shay calmed and relaxed herself in Naruto's arms and finally said.

"I think I'm okay now..."

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, concern coloring his tone as he rubbed his cheek against the top of her head then said, "Because if you so much as look pale once we step foot out of here, Kakashi's going to try nursing you back to health with one of his weird herbal concoctions."

Despite everything Shay giggled a little bit and said, "That doesn't sound so bad." Naruto hummed.

"It's not if your looking to lose about thirty pounds in one night and have your stomach pumped at the hospital." Naruto said seriously.

"He's that bad?"

"Honey, he's horrible. I'm telling you this now because if he tries to give you anything in your condition-"

"We don't actually know yet if I'm pregnant." Shay pointed out.

Naruto put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back so that he could look her in the eyes and slowly shook his head. "That doesn't matter. Until we know other wise, we will _act_ under the assumption that you are. Just in case. And if Kakashi tries to get you to drink anything odd, say _no_ and walk away. Don't let him manipulate you. Or brow beat you into taking his herbal remedys. They could hurt you _and_ the baby. Understand?"

"Yes. I understand."

"Okay-" Naruto said as he let go of her shoulders and dropped his arms to his sides and sighed. "Lets go see what Kakashi came here for. If we're lucky we might be able to ditch him and spend some time together."

"Okay." Shay said as Naruto opened the door and let her step out of the room before he followed her out.


	72. Chapter 72

Kakashi pushed a cup of steaming...er...slime towards Shay while Naruto examined the invitation that the copy nin had handed to him, and growled at her. "Drink it."

Shay looked at the cup of slime with an expression of horror and almost missed Naruto subtly toeing one of his house plants closer to her. Then when he had it in the perfect place for her to dump the contents of the cup into then tapped Kakashi on the shoulder to gain his attention.

And started firing questions at the man to distract him while she emptied the slime into the house plant and nearly choked on her tongue when the lush green plant withered and started turning brown.

_Holy shit-_ Shay thought as her eyes got as big as saucers.

Naruto hadn't been kidding when he had said that _anything_ Kakashi gave her could be dangerous to her and the baby. The plant had withered withing 0.01 seconds! That wasn't normal. That wasn't normal at all.

She quickly glanced at Naruto and noticed him subtly motion with his head for her to move the plant back towards him. She did as he bid and then pretended that she hadn't just killed his house plant as Kakashi turned his head back to her and started to tell her to drink the toxic stuff in the cup and blinked when he found it empty.

He made a humming sound and looked at Shay through his visible eye for a second then reached out and put one of his gloved hands against her cheek. "How do you feel now?" She didn't feel any warmer or colder to the touch so maybe his remedy had taken care of whatever she had been sick with earlier.

"I feel fine, brother." Shay lied as Naruto silently freaked out while Kakashi had his back to him. Kakashi dropped his hand away from her face and picked up the cup, then looked around for a second to make sure that she hadn't dumped it out as Naruto pulled himself together and asked in a strained tone.

"So the invitation is for a party?"

"That's right. I thought that since Shay is my kin now, and being that I'm formerly the last of one of the five founding clans; then I figured that having a party to introduce Shay to the clans and shinobi of the village would be a good idea. There's going to be food, dancing, wine-"

"So natrually Tsunade is going to be there." Naruto said in wry amusement.

"Everyone is going to be there Naruto. Even Iruka. I've even gone to the trouble of asking the Kazekage to attend-"

"Gaara's going to be there!" Naruto almost shouted and Kakashi nearly dropped the cup in his hand so that he could cover his ears, but stopped himself when he thought about the glass shattering and Shay possibly getting a sliver of the glass embedded in her foot... He was about to snap at the teen when Shay said very calmly.

"Naruto, inside voice please." Naruto instantly adjusted the volume of his voice and made it softer then repeted himself.

"Gaara's going to be there!" Kakashi chuckled and nodded his head as he made his way into Naruto's kitchen to make another cup of his famous herbal remedy for Shay. He wanted her in good health for tonights no doubt stressful events.

While he was out of the living room Naruto and Shay both ducked down next to the plant and spoke in horrified hushed tones. "Oh my god Mr. Ikki!"

"What the hell did he put in that concoction? Acid?"

"Mr. Ikki! Don't die!"

"Naruto I can't drink something so toxic that it can wither a healthy plant in under an hour!"

"Mr. Ikki, I'm so sorry you were killed-" Naruto hugged the brown, withered plant formly known as Mr. Ikki and petted it's dried out leaves. "I'll name my first born son after you."

Shay reached out and grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled none too gently and growled, "Your not naming my son Ikki. It's weird. If you want to honor your little friend then do something _normal_...like get Kakashi to drink one of his own concoctions."

"What purpose would that serve?" Naruto asked as he reached up and carefully pried her hand out of his hair without hurting himself.

Shay gave him a creepy smile that he had never seen before and pointed in Kakashi's direction. "Think about it for a second. If his concoction can do that to Ikki, then what do you think it will do to him." Naruto stared at her blankly for a moment then got an Oh look on his face and set Ikki down.

He'd been so shocked by the loss of his first friend that he had completely forgotten that he was the one who had warned Shay not to drink anything that Kakashi gave to her.

He was in the process of coming up with a plan to avenge Mr. Ikki when Kakashi walked out of the kitchen and looked around and found them both huddled on the floor a few feet away from a the kitchen table. "What are you two doing down there?"

The two of them jumped at the sound of his voice and turned their heads to look at him. Shay gave him an innocent smile that Kakashi knew was anything _but_ innocent. And Naruto...had this bizarre grin on his face. _Uh-huh._ The copy nin thought as he set down the newly fixed cup full of his herbal remedy. They way they were looking at him was making him suspiscous.

"We were talking about the party."

"Yeah. It sounds like fun. Is there anything special that we need to do?"

"No-" Kakashi said. "I've brought you both some clothes and shoes for the occasion so all you have to do is show up and have fun."

"Okay!" Naruto chirped.

"We'll be there." Shay said cheerfully.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the two for a second longer then shrugged his shoulders. "Okay then. I'll...see you two at eight this evening-" Kakashi said as he turned and walked towards the door and then paused as he grasped the door knob in one hand and called out. "Shay-" She looked at him, a curious expression on her face. "Drink what's in the cup."


	73. Reported again! Authors rant

Well my darlings I've been reported again by another A*hole. And I'm just a little bit pissed about it.

So if I stop updating with in the next day or so you have xoxoKakashixoxo to thank for it for trying to supress my freedom of speech and expression.

Apparently like some other people I've come across, this person can't tell a _story_ from _reality_. In fact his person said some pretty bad things about me because he/she seems to think that by writing stories with rape, tortue exct. that I am in some way trying to convince others that it's okay to do such terrible things.

Frankly I think this person needs his/her head checked. Because if people are so impressionable that they read something like that and then go do ity- they should seek medical help.

It is in no way my _responsibility_.

This person has also mentioned that I do not rate my stories properly. I wish that you could hear me laugh about that because I rate my stories based on the content. _M_ for mature. Not K. Not T. And nothing inbetween. _M_ for violence, language, sex, drugs, torture and everything else my twisted little mind can come up with.

Anyone who disagree's with this- can suck it.

I refuse to change _what_ I write, and _how_ I rate just because someone's pretty rose colored world got a great big dose of realiity.

But not to worry, I've done what I need too to make another profile for myself and I'll be around for a really, really long time because I like it here.

So- Anyone who runs into the person mentioned above, please let them know what you think of their bullshit. And while your at it please tell them that I said thanks for the heads up.

And because I'm a vindictive _bitch_, you can let them know that _they_ have been reported for abuse too.

Now I'm going to look up something to read to calm myself down. And anyone who doesn't like that can just get over it. I feel like I'm about to have a storke and I need to calm myself before I actually have one.

I'll update again later on, if I'm able.


	74. Chapter 74

Just to make sure that they made it to the party on time Naruto insisted that they start getting ready at about six thirty because Shay would need her hair and makeup done and such.

Not only that but with her almost constant trips to the bathroom to puke, she would need some time to let her stomach settle if she got sick too. So after Kakashi left Naruto took the cup of- _murderous-acidic-ooze_ out of Shay's hand and set it aside and grabbed her a clean cup and made her some orange flavored herbal tea with a touch of honey and handed it to her in the hopes that it might settle her stomach.

It worked. But just in case Naruto made sure that Shay ate some crackers for lunch and lay down to take a nap for an hour or two and upon waking her handed her the box that Kakashi had brought with her dress and shoes for the night and smiled at her because he had already peeked at the contents. And could already see her in the painstakingly well made dress and ushered her out of the living room and into his bedroom so that she could get dressed.

Once in Naruto's bedroom Shay set the box down and tentatively reached out and took the lid off of the box and frowned a little bit at what she could see of her dress. Her breath caught in her throat and she carefully took the dress from it's packaging and held it up so that she could see the whole length of it.

It was one of the most drop dead _georgous_ outfits she'd ever seen.

It was an ankle length white satin dress with a small corset style belt, a heart shaped bodice with off the shoulder elbow length sleeves. The skirt would flair out around her as she moved and over the white satin there was a sheer opalecent fabric with little seed pearls sewn onto it in the shapes of flowers with little touches of silver and pale mint green threads that shimmered like the opalecent fabric.

There was a seed pearl choker with little flower designs artfully woven into the necklace and a small pair of earrings to match. And in the bottom of the box there was a pair of small heeled spaghetti strap white shoes.

She laid the dress down on the bed and pulled out the jewelry and set it aside then started to strip so that she could get dressed. All in all it took her ten minutes to pull on the dress, the jewelry and the shoes after which she was hit by a wave of dizziness and had to sit down, her silver hair falling over over her slender shoulders.

It was right about then that Naruto knocked on the door and asked if she knew how to tie a tie. She sighed and told him to come on in and she'd give it a try. The door opened and Naruto stepped in and looked at her with an expression mirroring her own.

He looked devastatingly handsome in the black tux, slacks and shoes that Kakashi had brought for him. His usually spikey blond hair had been combed and slicked back so that only a few whisps of his bangs fell around his face. He paused in the doorway and looked her over then walked over to the bed and dropped down to one knee in front of her and took one of her hands in his and kissed it before saying, "_Wow_."

Shay gave him a weak smile. "Wow yourself." She said before dropping her head into her hands and taking a shuddering breath, missing the look of concern on Naruto's face as he stepped into the room and quietly shut the door behind him then moved to sit down next to her on the bed.

He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side. Shay leaned heavily against him and lay her head on his shoulder. "I'm not sure I should go to this party Naruto. I keep feeling sick and dizzy. What will we do if I faint? Or throw up on someone's shoes? In all probablility doing such a thing could start a feud. I don't want to cause trouble for Kakashi or you-"

Naruto kissed the top of her head and lifted his free hand to run hsi finger tips along the curve of her cheek. "Shay you worry far too much about the wrong things."

"I can't help it. If I really am pregnant then I need to think of how these things could affect or harm-"

"There isn't anything in this world that will either affect or harm _our_ baby Shay. I'll die before I allow it. And Kakashi will die before he allows it. I think part of the reason you don't want to go to this party is because your worried you might stand out too much or embarrass me or Kakashi. I also think that that may be part of the reason you keep feeling dizzy and sick. You're nervous and scared."

"I can't help it-" Shay said in a distressed tone that was dangerously close to the one she used when she cried. Naruto closed his eyes and sighed and just sat there holding her until she regained control over her rampaging emotions before letting her go and getting up, and getting her a tissue. And then grabbed some of her makeup so that he could help her finish getting ready and maybe do something to hide the red rims around her eyes from her crying before they left.

They both had enough on their minds without having to face down a pissed off Hatake if he saw any signs of Shay's crying.


	75. Chapter 75

I'm so sorry for not updating more yesterday.

You would not believe the day I had while watching my grandma.

My cousin Adam, the one who's supposed to help- collapsed yesterday and I didn't even know if he was breathing. I mean I looked, but it didn't look like his chest was moving.

So I smacked him and shook him a little bit then called his dad (because if he really had stopped breathing his dad would want to know and could tell me what to do just in case his heart had finally given out or something. I mean for all I know my uncle as a DNR form on Adam)

Anyways my uncle came down and slapped the bejesus out of Adam a total of six times before he started to wake up and at which point my uncle-

The same man who ran another one of our cousin's down and run over him for stealing Adam's heart medicine to make meth; was seated at the table looking more pissed than I've ever seen him look before. And he reamed Adam for taking more medicine than he should have, then reamed him again for passing out while on the job, then apologized to me and told me that the next time Adam passed out that he'd_ make_ him wish he was dead for scaring us.

Then I got stuck watching mammaw on my own. Which I can do most days. But yesterday was a really bad day and the second Adam left to go get her new nebulizer, the shit hit the fan.

Mammaw tried to break my leg, my fingers- she even jumped on my back and was stabbing me with a plastic spork and then when I finally got her off of me she called me everythng but white then flopped down and said, 'Oh. I'm tired.'

Adam walked into the house and all was right with the world...

I'm honestly thinking that they're trying to kill me. Everytime they pull something my chest starts hurting.

(**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Kakashi tripped over his own feet as he made his way down the steps of the building he'd rented out for Shay and Naruto's engagement party. His mismatched eyes never leaving Shay or her face.

Hell, the man didn't even blink! _The skirt chasing perv._ Naruto thought darkly as he watched Kakashi desend on them.

He tripped over his feet several times, caught himself and closed the remaining distance between himself and them and did this weird almost predatory little walk around Shay that had Naruto's hackles rising a little bit.

"Little sister, you look _lovely_." Kakashi finally said as he stopped moving directly in front of Shay and looked her over again before taking one of her hands in his and kissing the knuckles. Naruto snorted and rolled his eyes. Of course Shay looked lovely. She had that weird glow that pregnant women got. Kakashi was just probably picking up on it and didn't know the source behind it.

Shay looked a little bit uncomfortable while Naruto hung back and observed for a moment before the copy nin's glance slid his way and he gave him a smile. Naruto didn't smile back. He was too busy envisioning knocking the copy nin's teeth out for various things.

But then he started thinking of ways to make Kakashi disappear for ten years or so and wound up smiling as Kakashi left Shay's side to straighten Naruto's tie a bit and said something like, "Well you clean up nice Naruto. If I had known how good you looked in a tux I would have invited you on missions and such where you had to wear one."

Naruto blinked, his happy _Kakashi-will-disappear_ grin never leaving his face as he said unitelliably, "Wha?" Kakashi glanced over at Shay and smiled and told her to go on inside, he already had an temporary escort waiting to take her around.

She gave Kakashi a narrowed eye look, apprently knowing that he was up to something. Which was odd since most people never caught on to when he was up to something. He waited for a moment for her to call him out on whatever he was thinking about doing, and he could plainly see that she wanted too. However she just turned and walked up the steps and into the building.

Leaving Kakashi alone with Naruto. With his hands still on the blond's tie, his palms itching to strangle the younger man as he turned back to Naruto and noted that he was finally back from la-la land and snarled, "Naruto what the _fuck_ is going on with the two of you? I didn't mind the way that you were acting earlier because I figured that you were just worried about Shay being ill but this-" Kakashi pointed to the building and looked more and more pissed by the second. "Her eyes were red! Her face is chalk white even under the makeup. Just what the hell are you two keeping from me? And you better tell me honestly _boy_ or I'll start breaking bones after I carve off your-"

"Whoa!" Naruto said in a slightly alarmed tone as he grasped Kakashi's wrists in his hands and tried to pry the Jounin's hands from his tie before the man garroted him with the fabric. "First of all nothing is going on with us. Shay looks like she's been crying because she has-" Kakashi's hands tightened around his tie again, slowly but surely cutting off his oxygen. Naruto made a gagging sound and Kakashi loosened his grip a little bit. Allowing him to breathe again.

"She still isn't feeling well and while laying down earlier she had a nightmare about her- er, well..." Naruto looked a mite uncomfortable.

He'd been about to say Shay had had a nightmare about her past but saying this would be unwise due to the fact that Kakashi would poke and prod the subject from every angle until Shay was a sobbing, and shaking mess.

The damned man didn't know how to back the fuck off when he was supposed too.

So natrually Naruto was relunctant to speak of Shay's past to him. He might do something stupid. Then Naruto would flat out have to murder him.

Something flicked in the copy nin's expression. Concern. _Worry_, perhaps? He looked away from Naruto and glanced towards the building and Naruto could see that Kakashi was feeling torn between strangling him and comforting Shay if he could. "Anyways that's why she was crying. We aren't keeping anything from you. We wouldn't dare."

_Without a whip and a lion tamer between us, that is. _Naruto thought as Kakashi's fingers completely slackened and he sighed and dropped his hands to his sides. "I'm sorry Naruto. I just- This is how my clan reacts to seeing pain in another. Shay may only be my sister in name but to me it's deeper than that. To me the connection feels like a blood one." Kakashi said quietly, his expression a little wistful.

Naruto felt a sudden pain in his chest and before he realized what he was doing he blurted out, "Shay's agreed to marry me-" Kakashi looked at him his expression stunned. But things didn't end there. Naruto found himself saying more than he should have. "And she's pregnant with my baby."

Kakashi's jaw dropped open and Naruto gave him a wide eyed almost comically horrified look as he slapped his hands over his mouth as he flushed red. Oh god he'd just handed Kakashi a rope that the man would likely hang him with. Hadn't he?


	76. Chapter 76

Kakashi's jaw worked a few times, opening and closing like a fishes mouth then after a second or so he let out this loud alarmed scream. Naruto jumped and took several steps away from the copy nin, his expression baffled. He'd expected all sorts of reactions from Kakashi- Anger, hatred, murderous intent, sorrow, happiness, joy- but not this.

God he didn't think anyone would react to his news like _this_. Least of all Kakashi.

Kakashi fell silent and stared at him blankly for a second then asked in a totally serious tone of voice, "Did she drink that herbal remedy I made for her?"

"Uh...no."

"Well okay then." Kakashi said quietly, his mind still reeling with shock as he added, "Congratulations Naruto." Then silently turned and made his way back up the steps and slipped into the building.

Leaving the blond standing there wondering what the hell that had been about. Especially since there was _no_ way that the copy nin could know that Shay's baby was actually his.

(***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Shay was being introduced to a lord visiting the village when someone came up behind her and put their hands on her shoulders, startling her.

She tipped her head back and looked up at the person behind her and noted that it was Kakashi and he didn't look happy. She blinked as he gave a mocking smile to the lord and then rudely dismissed him, saying something like "Shay's needed elsewhere." then grasped one of her hands in his and dragged her away before she could react.

Once across the large room and safely out of earshot he leaned down and hissed. "Why didn't you tell me that you and Naruto had been intimate?"

She stiffened and flushed before snapping at him. "I hardly think it's anyone's business what I do with Naruto." She sounded so angry, so _offended_ that Kakashi took a mental step back and went over his words before realizing that he'd just made a mistake. Crap. He hadn't meant to sound like a jealous bastard there. He just wanted to know why she and Naruto had been hiding the fact that she was now pregnant that's all.

_This sibling stuff is a lot harder than it looks._ Kakashi thought in wry amusement before saying in a more gentle tone, "I'm sorry Shay. I didn't mean my question the way it sounded. You're right, what you do with Naruto is no ones business-"

"Then what exactly were you trying to get at?" Shay asked stiffly, still pissed at him if the look on her face was any indication at all.

"I...just wanted to know why you and Naruto felt it was necessary to hide the fact that your- uh, well..."

Shay's eyes widened a bit and she stared at him with a look of utter dismay on her face. "N-Naruto told you?" Kakashi nodded his head and Shay looked like she was about to burst into tears. Alarming the copy nin a bit when she started to hyperventilate.

"Shay? Shay? Calm down, it's okay! Everything is fine!" Kakashi babbled as he stepped in close and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him and awkwardly patted her back while he looked around for someone, anyone to help him as Shay finally burst into tears and started babbling weird shit.

"I'm s-s-so so-rry K-Kakashi! I-I w-wanted to t-t-tell you!"

"O-Okay, you know what I don't care. It's fine that I was left out of the loop-" Kakashi said, hoping to somehow assure her that he wasn't upset or anything. Actually he was quite the opposit. He was sort of looking forward to being an uncle.

He just wished Shay would stop friggin crying!

Unfortunately for him he must have stepped on a mental land mine or something because one second Shay was pulling back to look up at him, her face pale and tears streaked and the next... she laid him out flat with a punch to the face and ran away after yelling, "Kakashi you unbelievable bastard!" Causing everyone in the room to turn and see him laying of the floor with a pained look on his face as he blinked his eye and wondered what the hell had just happened.

He started to sit up and caught the slightest glipse of teal blue skirts and blinked one last time and looked up at Tsunade as she stood over him with a frown on her face, her golden brown eyes focused on Shay's disappearing back before she glanced down at him and sighed, "Dammit Kakashi what did you do to the girl to make her hit you and call you a bastard?"

"I-I have no idea." Kakashi said lamely as he rubbed the side of his masked face where Shay had hit him and wondered if her reaction had something to do with her current condition. Tsunade offered him a hand but he shook his head and poilitely thanked her and got to his feet, determined to hunt down Shay and see what she was so upset about.


	77. Chapter 77

Naruto was talking with Shino, Sai and Sakura when Shay ran up behind him and grabbed his arm, in tears and sniffled. "I w-wanna leave." Naruto looked down at her pale tear streaked face and handed his glass to Sai with a murmered apology then slipped an arm around Shay's slender shoulders and pulled her close and looked around.

"Naruto? Is everything alright?" Shino asked, concern coloring his tone as Sakura took a small step forward but was stopped by Sai as Naruto glanced at them out of the corner of his eye.

"My mate is in tears. Do you think everything is fine?" Naruto said without realising what words he'd just used as he excused himself and Shay then deftly maneuvered her away from his friends. Ignoring the curious looks from everyone as he and Shay moved through the area.

He found a corner close to the door where no one could see or hear them speak and pulled Shay into it and pressed her back against the wall and gently caught her chin in his fist and tipped her head back.

His azure blue eyes searching her expression and taking note of her distress.

_His_ Shay had definately seen better days.

He couldn't believe that she was a few weeks to a month into her pregnancy and she was already looking so pale and fragile. _Please god don't let her be one of those women that has to be put on bed rest in the last months of pregnancy. _Naruto thought as it occurred to him that if she was one of those women then he may end up losing her during childbirth.

It was a thoroughly terrifying thought. And though he didn't like it _one little bit,_ he would try his best to make sure that Shay didn't wind up like that unless it was recommended by Tsunade.

Still... That didn't explain why Shay was crying and wanted to leave, so he stubbornly pushed his grim thoughts aside and wiped some of the tears from her face as he asked in a low tone. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Shay took several shuddering breaths and started talking in a low shakey tone inbetween hiccups. By the time she finished Naruto sighed and lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose while silently swear ing that one of these days he was going to fucking _murder_ his former sensei. However today wasn't that day since the whole ordeal between Kakashi and Shay had been a huge misunderstanding to begin with.

A misunderstanding that Kakashi had stupidly instigated.

But it did amused Naruto greatly that Shay had punched the man for his idiocy. He just wished that he'd been there to witness Kakashi being knocked on his ass. He was about to say something about the incident when he sensed Kakashi coming and sighed.

_Crap. _He just couldn't get a break today, could he? "Shay love, why don't I hand you off to Shino and see if I can do something to explain to Kakashi that what happened was a misunderstanding." Naruto said as he lifted one hand and signaled for someone and the next thing Shay knew the two of them were surrounded by several people.

A few she recognised as Naruto's friends. And others she had never met before but was intimidated by nevertheless.

Naruto handed her off to a handsome guy with spikey dark hair and shades with little blue beads hanging from the wire just in front of his ears, his suit was a slate grey with a blue tie and matching grey jacket. "Is everything alright Naruto?" Sakura asked curiously as the blonde placed a hand on the small of Shay's back and gently pushed her towards Shino.

"Uh...not really. But I'll see if I can fix things-" Naruto said before saying to Shino. "Protect this woman with your life Shino. She's carrying precious cargo. Understand?" Shino looked down at Shay with a bemused expression as both Sai and Sakura cocked their heads at Naruto's words.

Wasn't the term 'precious cargo' slang for something? They both wondered as Kakashi walked up and cast Shay a pained/questioning look then glanced over at Naruto. "Naruto. A word please."

"Sure, sure, sensei."

"Brother-" Kakashi corrected earning more than a few funny looks from the others as Naruto shrugged.

"Brother. Sensei. It's all the same to me." Naruto said smoothly as he smiled at the disgruntled Hatake before turning to Shino with a last minute request, "I almost forgot, Shino. Don't let Shay drink anything with alcohol in it."

Shino blinked behind his shades as a lightbulb finally went off in Sakura's head and she gasped. Everyone in the little group looked at her as she covered her mouth with one hand and she noted the almost predatory looks on both Kakashi and Naruto's faces as they glanced at her. _What the hell? _The pinkette wondered as the two walked off.

Leaving Shay in their company. Which was fine since Sakura suddenly felt very, very curious about why both Naruto and Kakashi were acting so out of character. Perhaps Shay would indulge her a bit and answer some questions that Sakura had had from the beginning.


	78. Chapter 78

The moment that Naruto walked off with Kakashi, the pit dropped out of Shay's stomach. Leaving her feeling sick and shaken. She might have fainted due to her anxiety if not for the fact that she suddenly found herself swept up in- what's his name? Shades? No, it was Shino. Damn but she needed to pay closer attention- Shino's arms bridal style and carried across the room and set down on a settee.

Blushing at the abruptness of being carried by an unknown guy, especially a friend of Naruto's, she was about to thank him for finding her a seat when she heard some muttering and looked in the direction of a particularly large group of people who were all staring at them and whispering behind their hands.

Narrowing her eyes at the group she was about to snap at them when she felt a delicate hand on one of her shoulders and looked up to see Sakura and Sai standing just behind her. "Ignore them. The lords and ladies of Fire country are always jealous of our village flowers."

She blinked at Sakura as she asked Shino to go get Shay a drink of water or something.

Shino looked like he was about to refuse but Sakura pointed out to him that Shay was in a room full of people (Kakashi and Naruto included) who would die to protect her, thus shutting down any argument that he had been about to put up.

And with a resigned sigh he quickly and respectfully bowed to Shay then straightened his spine and then vanished into thin air.

Shay made a funny little strangled sound as Sakura walked around the chair and sat down beside her and carefully arranged the skirt of her dress and asked. "So, you and Naruto have been living together for a while... Wanna tell us what sort of relationship you two have?"

"Our relationship is no one's business but ours." Shay said, trying to sound polite. Sakura smirked at her and before she could react placed a hand over her stomach and closed her eyes for a moment then hummed.

She could sense it. The small yet impossibly strong lifeforce of a new being nestled inside of Shay's womb.

Slowly Sakura opened her eyes and pulled her hand away from Shay's stomach and smiled at the girl. "So Naruto's going to be a daddy..." It wasn't a question. Sakura wasn't even talking to Shay anymore. She was merely musing to herself out loud.

Shay blanched a little bit and subtely scooted herself closer to Sai as Sakura got this creepy/happy look on her face and finally said. "No worries. I won't tell anyone until you and Naruto are ready to come clean. In the meantime I'll try to keep Tsunade from breathing down your necks too much. After all, the little one will be her first grandkid."

Shino came back shortly after that with a glass of juice that he must have gotten straight from his own refridgerator and right about the same time he was handing it to her, Sakura stood up and quietly excused herself then walked away.

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Sakura found herself a nice darkened place away from everyone else where she sat down, her mind spinning. _Naruto_. Her teammate and friend...seemed to have moved on with his life without her. And while it was good to see him focused on something else aside from troubling things, she couldn't help but feel a little angry at him too for never noticing when her feelings had started to change towards him.

And now he was beyond her grasp... The irony was just fantastic. It made her feel as if their roles had been reversed and she was now the one chasing after him. "God it's just like Sauske all over again." She muttered to herself as tears slipped down her pale cheeks.

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Kakashi led Naruto outside just in case they both decided to raise their voices during the talk he intended to have with the blond. No that wasn't right.

He _knew_ that they would raise their voices, because something about Shay's behavior earlier when she'd punched him and called him a bastard, seemed so out of the blue that something in Kakashi's mind had clicked into place.

What if Shay's baby was his? What if she knew that there was a chance and Naruto knew that there was a chance and was claiming both Shay and the baby as his to keep Kakashi from taking them from him?

Frankly Kakashi didn't think the kid had it in him to stand between a Hatake and it's young. But after examining how close Naruto and Shay had become after Kakashi had adopted her into his clan- he wasn't all that sure anymore.

Naruto could be _stubborn_ and _possessive_ as hell when he found something or someone that he felt he could keep.

It was why he had struggled so much to become a great shinobi. Power didn't matter a whit to him. All he wanted was strength to protect what he held most dear. And right now Shay was at the top of the blond's list of things to protect.

"Kakashi? What did you want to talk about?" Naruto asked, his voice cutting through Kakashi's thoughts like a knife. Kakashi stopped walking and looked around for a moment then after gauging that they were far enough away from the building, turned and finally looked at Naruto.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"Is it about Shay punching you earlier?" Naruto asked as he stuffed hsi hands in his pants pockets and rocked back on his heels a little bit. His expression one of amusement.

Kakashi looked a little bit uncomfortable for a moment. "Uh...no. I don't really care about that. Actually I wanted to ask you something that you might be a little bit offended by since it's of a personal nature. But I need to know."

"Alright then. Fire away." Naruto said.

"Around when in the past month did you and Shay...uh...become intimate?" Kakashi asked as he flushed a little bit in embarrassment. Naruto cringed and flushed to the roots of his hair in shock._ Oh hell no_. Naruto thought. Kakashi did not just _ask_ him that.

Narrowing his eyes slightly Naruto calculated in his head the chances of pulling a fast one over on Kakashi while making him flinch too. It probably wouldn't take much. All he'd have to do is lie then throw in a few details and hopefully Kakashi would never ask him such a thing again.

"A few days after you. I could smell her starting her fertile cycle but held back until she was napping-" Kakashi went ram rod stiff, his eyes locking with Naruto's own as the blond smirked. "It started out as cuddling but quickly progressed from there. She's so adorably responsive when she'd drowsy." Kakashi was gaping at him now, his expression clearly one of disbelief.

_Well that's what you get when you ask stupid questions, sensei. _Naruto thought, not even feeling the smallest sliver of guilt for lying. Kakashi shook his head slowly as if to clear it and looked back at Naruto and blinked in shock when he saw the younger man's eyes werre scarlet with slitted pupils.

_Kyubbi? _What's Naruto doing letting the demon influence him? Kakashi wondered before it occurred to him that his former student was lying to him. Narrowing his eyes at the younger man Kakashi decided to take a small risk to see if Naruto was really lying and asked. "You know that Shay has a small mole on one of her breasts." It wasn't a question, merely the route he'd chosen to set his trap.

Naruto grinned at him. "Sure. Left breast just a scant half inch above her nipple." _Ah-ha! Got you!_ Kakashi thought as the knot in his stomach loosened a bit.

"Thank you Naruto that will be all." Kakashi said curtly. The blond shrugged his shoulders and turned and walked off, leaving Kakashi alone to think and reevaluate things. He stood there for a moment or two, his mind awhirl with information. His little talk with Naruto had told him far more than he had ever expected and now-

Now it would seem that he was going to be a father. Which meant that he would have a true clan again. The thought of having a son or daughter was terriffying to him. Especially since they would be the target of assassination attempts, kidnapping attempts, political struggles...

Still- A faint smile curved his lips as he finally managed to wrap his mind around the truth. He was going to be the father to a new generation of Hatakes. Excitment pulsed through him and he abruptly turned on his heel and ran back towards the building. He needed to talk to Shay.

He needed to let her know that he knew and that he understood why she was reluctant to tell him and that everything would be okay. But most of all he wanted to tell her that he wanted to be a part of the baby's life in every capacity possible. He'd be it's father, it's teacher and friend. He'd be whatever the little one needed him to be.


	79. Chapter 79

Okay kittens- for the last time.

I understand some of you have concerns about _who_ exactly Shay is going to end up with but let me remind you that I've already said that Kakashi is right where I want him. Baby or not he has established himself as her brother. Though I do think it would be funny for him to announce his and Naruto's engagment to Shay.

Just to piss Naruto off and have him growl, "I should have killed him!"

However I have already determined that Shay and Naruto are a couple and that Kakashi will semi relinquish his claim on the baby to keep it from being the center of political struggles and so on.

So- pay attention and I hope that you keep reading. Cause this next part is going to be fun as hell.

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When Naruto returned to the party, he automatically looked for Shay. And upon seeing her on a settee across the way with Sai and Shino standing guard over her, safe and sound, right where she was suppossed to be and smiled a little bit.

He started towards where Shino and Sai and Shay were and got about half way there when a three lords stepped out in front of him and started talking all at once. "You must be the Bijuu container, Naruto Uzumaki-" The first one said as he grabbed Naruto's hand and shook it so hard that he shook Naruto's whole body.

"You have done just a wonderful job of protecting the village and the neighboring lands-" The second lord gushed in a sickly sweet tone that set off warning bells in the blonds mind.

"Has Hatake Kakashi settled on who his sister shall marry?" The third lord asked and Naruto blinked at him. Stunned by his lack of subtlety. Naruto cleared his throat and pulled his hand free of the first lord's hand and focused all of his attention on the man who had not so nicely asked who Shay would be marrying as anger roared through him.

If circumstances were normal, he'd have broken the man's neck by now for even _daring_ to breathe the same air as his beloved.

Unfortunately there was a building full of witnesses, one of whom happened to be the Hokage, and he was pretty sure that she would scream at him. Which was something he wanted to avoid for now since anything done to him could have a negative affect on Shay. So he was more or less stuck being on his best behavior. Which was a shame since he had at least one or two places left in the village to hide the lord's body.

The man asked him again, this time with a noticable arrogance that set the blond's teeth on edge. As if he thought Naruto should jump just to answer him. _The bastard. _"As a matter of fact I do know who she'll be marrying-"

"Oh, so Hatake has chosen already?" The lord asked with interest.

"Yeah _she_ has-" Naruto said smugly earning a startled look from the lord. "And who she's chosen is none of your goddamn business."

The lord looked at Naruto with a furious expression on his face and took a small step closer. "You are rather impertinent for a shinobi-"

"And your rather arrogant for someone who just sits on his ass all day long-" Naruto growled at him as he reached out and grabbed the lord by the front of his silk robes and snarled, "Now get the hell out of my sight before I go midevil on your ass, shinobi style." The man in Naruto's grasp paled as he saw the blond's eyes flash from the crystaline azure blue that he'd been staring into for the past few minutes, to crimson with slitted pupils.

The man nodded his head in understanding. That he wasn't dealing with just _any_ shinobi- but the one who could easily erase his existance from the Earth. Naruto let him go and then grinned, showing his fangs a little bit as he straightened the man's robes then stepped around him and his two friends and walked off.

He got only a few steps when he saw Kakashi appear right in front of Shay and reached down to gently take her hand in his and pull her to her feet. Naruto moved a little bit closer to hear him thank Shino and Sai for letting him have a moment to talk to her. And Naruto made a mental note to do something horrible to both shinobi.

Like give Shino some bug spray for his uncomming birthday. And switch out Sai's paint with watered down dog poo or something. Although he would hate to resort to such childish pranks this late in the game. Shay might think him an idiot or childish. Still...

He was curious to know what Kakashi wished to speak to her about.

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Kakashi was finding it harder and harder to contain himself as he led Shay through the crowd to the back of the building where he found a nice place to talk and automatically pulled Shay into his arms and held her, startling her a bit by his abrupt embrace. It was stupid of him, he knew. But this would be one of the handful of times that Naruto would allow him so close to the mother of his child.

And call him a sentimental old fool, but he wanted to hold her at least once. Shay squirmed slightly in his grasp and he smiled faintly, wondering if she had such problems sitting still and being held when she was with Naruto.

"Kakashi? What's wrong?" Shay finally asked as she lifted her arms and gripped the sleeves of his jacket.

"Nothing. I just wanted to say something-" However now that he had her alone he couldn't seem to find the words he'd been so excited about saying mere moments ago. Shay tried to turn her head and look up at him but his arms tightened around her a little bit, forcing her to stay still. "I know that the baby is mine, Shay." Kakashi finally said.

Shay stayed quiet in his arms though he could almost feel her panic and inner turmoil and chose his next words carefully so that he wouldn't spark another incident like earlier. "I'm not mad about being left in the dark, Shay. Though I would have liked to be told by you, I can understand why saying anything about it would cause you such distress. There are people in the world that would hurt the baby, and there will be times when I simply can't help you. But that doesn't mean that I do not care-"

"Both you and the baby will forever be linked to me through our bonds, and blood. And while it saddens me that I can't be around for most things in the little one's life...I'm glad that you chose someone who will. You and Naruto have something special. And I don't want to ruin what you both have by claiming the child and fighting with him. I just wanted to tell you, that if he ever hurts you, ever treats you badly or makes you cry- then I will take you from him."

"I think taking me from him would take some real doing, Kakashi." Shay said after a heartbeat or two. Her voice tinged with wary amusement. Kakashi thought about what he'd just said and flushed as his lips twitched slightly.

"I think you're right about that. I can already imagine Naruto breaking into my home to beat the hell out of me. Still, my offer will stand until further down the line. Maybe once you two are married and have five or six kids." Kakashi said half jokingly earning a small giggle as Kakashi sobered and asked tentatively.

"What do you need me to be? For the baby, I mean? Do you want me to be it's uncle? It's friend?"

"I see no reason why you and Naruto both can't be it's father, Kakashi-" Shay said after a moment as she stepped back and looked at him. He gave her an uncertain look as she smiled. "The two of you may argue on how to raise the baby, but luckily for the three of you- I'll be there to stop any serious fights from occurring."

Kakashi's lips curved up into a whistful smile as he imagined the future that Shay was painting for him.

Oh but that was such a sweet dream. Certainly something worth holding onto. Kakashi chuckled as he thought of the future heated arguments between himself and Naruto and folded his arms over his chest. "That...sounds like it could be fun." And now that he knew what Shay needed of him, he could get on with making her engagment to Naruto public.

He had even already figured out a date for the wedding.

"Why don't I let you go find Naruto." Kakashi suggested as he released her and let his arms fall to his sides.

"Oh alright." Shay said and nearly jumped out of her skin when Kakashi leaned down and kissed her cheek before walking off.


	80. Chapter 80

Yo! I'm back kittens. How have you been?

I know that it's been a while but that in no way means that I've quite any of my fics. Some of the older ones are just harder for me to pick up than others. Luckily for you I have a system.

Naps, playing with my cats, more naps, listening to music, more naps- then work! Either that or no sleep for several days.

Anyways, I know a lot of you have been waiting. _Patiently_, I may add. And I love you for it. But when I'm not working on my Naruto stories, I'm branching out. I've now got a DBZ fic, Buffy the vampire slayer, Host club, and I've been checking coming up with ideas for Star Trek, Rurouni Kenshin...and a few others.

So never fear- I'm always around. Also, I was asked to do an insane Lee/fem Naruto fic. And I've been trying to think of cool ways to start that.

Now without further ado- here's Melt.

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Naruto waited until Kakashi had passed him before quickly maneuvering his way across the dance floor when he saw Gaara, Kankuro and Temari walk up, and paused. He hadn't been told that they would be in the village for the party. But he couldn't exactly say that he was surprised. Not totally anyways.

He turned his head a little bit to glance in Kakashi's direction and caught the man looking at him out of the corner of his eye, a faint smile tugging at his lips. As if he were trying to say; _Ha! I can still shock you stupid. _

But Naruto only got the impression that he had asked the three to come to the party because he had wanted them to be present as his friends/adopted siblings. Because like Tsunade, Sakura and the others- they would back him if anyone decided to ruin the party. Or attack him and Shay and their relationship. Whatever came first.

Naruto nodded his head at his former sensei and turned his head back around in time to see Gaara bowing over Shay's hand, his Ai tattoo touching her knuckles in the same way he had bowed to Naruto.

The blonde had even thought that he had explained that it meant something important, but _what_ exactly the meaning was escaped him at the moment.

All Naruto saw was his best friend charming his mate. Eyes flashing crimson for a moment, Naruto started to move again and didn't stop until he was standing right behind Shay. Gaara looked at him, his smile never fading for a moment and though Naruto felt a bit annoyed, he knew that he was getting worked up over nothing.

Gaara was just trying to be supportive and distract Shay from all of the overwhelming elements of the party by keeping her from being pulled into political discussions by foreign diplomats who would think her inadequate. Naruto smiled at the red head automatically and finally managed to speak as he slipped an arm around Shay's slender waist, his hand resting over her stomach, his fingers splayed wide.

"Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, it's been a while. How have you been?"

"We've been well-" Gaara said and was cut off when Temari and Kankuro suddenly launched themselves at Naruto, forcing him to let go of Shay with a yelp as he found himself being bear hugged by the two at the same time.

Gaara sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as his siblings gushed on and on about the trip the the village, their excitement about the rumors that he'd found himself a lover (rumors which had apparently been spread all the way to Sauna, if the way they spoke was any indication at all) And the rest sort of became this odd buzzing sound in his ears that tended to happen when people talked to him _way_ too fast.

Finally after a moment or so Gaara growled something along the lines of, "Dammit." or "I can't take you two anywhere." as he stepped around Shay who was watching the two's display of affection almost curiously as Gaara pried them off of him.

It took a second or so longer than Naruto would have liked given the contact and the fact that Shay was _right fucking there_, and he couldn't reach out and touch her through Kankuro's flesh. That would just creep her out and probably piss Gaara off. Yet the moment he was free, the first thing he did was take up position next to his mate again.

His need to be close to her driving all other needs from his mind for the moment. Including the need to know what Kakashi had said.

"Fantastic, now that the glomping nightmare is over-" Temari and Kankuo both gave Naruto little pouts as Gaara chuckled in amusement while Naruto straightened his tux. "I see that you've already met Shay." Naruto continued as he glanced down as Shay hesitantly slipped an arm around his left one and pressed herself against it in an almost shy manner.

"Yes. Hatake-san's sister is lovely." Gaara said politely. His pale aqua eyes flickering over Shay appraisingly, and was a bit when the girl blushed a soft pink and buried her face against Naruto's arm in an effort to hide her embarrassment.

"Yes she is-" Naruto said in agreement. Part of him happy that his adopted brother thought his mate attractive. Slipping his arm around her shoulders, Naruto placed his hand at the small of her back and pushed her forward just a scootch so that she wasn't half hidden behind him. All so that he could wrap his arm around her shoulders. "I've had the pleasure of living with her for a while and she's a very lovely lady." Naruto said, trying to clue Gaara in on their relationship without really saying anything.

Gaara's face blanked for a second then he frowned then he got a wide eyed shell shocked look on his face and had to slap a hand over his mouth to keep his jaw from dropping as his eyes scanned the room for anyone who may have overheard Naruto while he thought, _That iditot! Why can't he keep his mouth shut?_ After all, the last thing his friend needed was someone trying to assassinate his mate.

And with all of the diplomats in the room, he was fairly certain that something like that might happen if he had been overheard. There were far too many people who would profit from having Naruto lose control and have to be put down like a rabid animal.

"Chill Gaara-" Naruto said as his friend's eyes flickered back to him. "There are a number of people in this room, Kakashi himself included who already know that I've been living with Shay." Naruto said in an effort to put Gaara at ease again. It worked to some degree though Naruto was sure that he was going to get a lecture from Gaara later when suddenly the whole room went quiet and Gaara turned his head to look elsewhere.

Curious about the silence and what could possibly be drawing Gaara's attention, he turned his head to find Kakashi in the middle of the room using his chakra to gain the attention of everyone before he started to speak. "Ladies! Gentlemen! Kages, clan heads and diplomats! Thank you all for coming to my sister's coming out party. I have one announcement then all of you may go back to your merrymaking..."

" I'm sure many of you are here to see my lost relation and see if the rumors are true while others of you are probably here to see if she is available. _She isn't_. My sister has had the luck to find a kind, comapssionate man to take her in and care for her. A man of worth and strength. A young man that I've had the good fortune to call a good friend for many years now-" The room started to buzz softly with whispers as Kakashi continued. "Which is why I would like to formally announce, with my sister's permission of course- Her engagement to this man that I have mentioned."

Shay gasped and covered her mouth with her hands and stared wide eyed at Kakashi as he and many others in the room turned to look at her. Naruto and Gaara included as Kakashi asked in an almost booming voice, "Shay, would you like to marry the one that you love?"

Both Naruto and Shay blinked and Kakashi grinned at the stupified expressions on their faces then continued on. "I guess that's a yes..." Kakashi said almost weakly as he rubbed the nape of his neck with his hand. "Well then, ladies and gents- I'd like to formally announce the upcoming marriage of my sister to my friend, Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto's eyes widened while next to him Shay made a nearly inaudible sound then fainted dead away before Gaara could catch her. The sound of her small body hitting the floor was the only thing that Naruto heard aside from Gaara's loudly spoken, _"C-r-a-p!"_


	81. Chapter 81

Yo kittens, what's up?

I know that I haven't been writing as much as I used too. But never fear, I haven't forgot you. I've just been busy with my dad's new heart condition and stuff so I've been sticking pretty close to my parents place instead of in front of the computer- ya know, just in case his heart gives out.

It'd kill my mom. And the rest of us would have no choice but to commit suicide otherwise we'd kill eachother within a week.

By the way for anyone who wants to know; my friend Velma was given six months to a year and is handling her upcoming demise with dignity and grace. Of course it helps that she's given me permission to go mid evil on her husbands mistress.

My brother just turned 27 on the 25th of this month. He had to work but I hear that he had a nice juicy steak for dinner.

My mom is about to get a new job.

And... I'd rather not go into anything else. I may go to jail if I do.

So, without further ado- here is the next chapter of **_Melt_**.

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Kakashi couldn't move fast enough to dodge the fist coming at his face.

To be honest, he wasn't really paying attention. His mis matched eyes were locked on the still body of his adopted sister as Gaara and his siblings hovered over her with Tsunade as Sakura and Sai secured the room with Neji and Lee.

He felt a fist make contact with his jaw as someone snarled angrily, **_"Idiot bastard!"_**

As the fist connected and Kakashi's head snapped back on his neck painfully and he started to stumble when Naruto grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him up until his feet were barely touching the ground as he growled. "What the _fuck_ do you think you were doing announcing something like that in front of so many clans and feudal lords? Are you _trying_ to get Shay and myself killed?"

Kakashi shook himself and blinked down at the blonde_ juggernaut _and frowned as his eyes locked with furious azure blue.

He didn't understand why Naruto was so angry. If anything he had thought the teen would be ecstatic about his engagment to Shay. He had the full support of many shinobi in the village, Kakashi included. And only a fool would seek to try and harm Shay would soon find themselves against an small army of really pissed off ninja's plus one truly furious biiju.

But the throbbing ache in his jaw kept him from explaining himself.

Right now he was more worried about Shay and the way she had hit the floor. She could have hurt the baby. And poor Gaara had nearly died of a heart attack because she had dropped so suddenly.

Naruto shook him and snapped, "Well? Are you going to explain yourself and why you just endangered my mate and our unborn child? Or do I have to hand you over to Iruka and Tsunade?" Kakashi's eyes widened a little bit in alarm as his gaze flickered from Naruto to Tsunade who was standing next to the lounge chair Shay was resting on, cracking her knuckles menacingly, a dark look on her face.

"I-I honestly didn't think you would mind since the two of you had been dating for a while now." He said in a low tone that only Naruto could hear. The blonde let out a low feral sounding growl and threw his former sensei away from him before he really hurt him.

Who the hell was his sensei to decide those things? He and Shay had been taking it nice and slow for a reason.

Now don't get him wrong, he loved Shay. Truly he did. Just like he knew that she loved him. But they both had a lot of emotional baggage that they often had to tip toe around. The abuse they had both suffered when they were younger still hung over theirr heads, sometimes making it difficult to do more than kiss or hold hands.

But he had noticed recently that there had been a change in Shay's behavior. And at first he had contributed that change to what had happened between Shay and Kakashi, but now he wasn't so sure. He supposed that it could have been the pregnancy. But he didn't know much about things like that so he couldn't truly say that that was the cause. Not for sure anyways.

But he had noticed that he hadn't had to tip toe around her quite as much. She had been more affectionate lately. Bolder. She laughed and smiled more. Which made him happy. Really it did. Especially since it seemed that she was finally really starting to heal from her rape and move on.

Which would make it easier for him to start a life with her from here on out, but he couldn't help but worry about letting so many people know that he had a lover. Because even if he had the support of his friends and comrades, it might not be enough to stop someone from trying something. After all there were still over a third of the population in the village- plus the feudal lords and clans that were out for his blood.

What if he were sent on a mission and those people took their hatred and rage out on Shay? Had Kakashi even considered that? Naruto wondered as his azure blues shifted from scarlet to blue again as he glanced in Shay's direction. She was still laying on the lounge chair a few feet away, in a dead faint.

Gaara and Temari and Tsunade were taking turns trying to wake her, to make sure that she was okay. Somehow Naruto doubted she would be. She had hit the floor pretty damn hard with her head and might have an concussion or a fractured skull, both of which may be why she wasn't waking. Half sighing, half growling Naruto said in a deep rumbling tone.

"Sakura, Tsunade- I need one of you to check for a cuncussion of a skull fracture and one of you to check on the baby."

A collective gasp went through the room as many of his friends and comrades stared at him in slack jawed and wide eyed shock. Tsunade, Yamoto, Iruka and Sai included. Naruto rolled his eyes at their reaction and clapped his hands and barked out, "Now please!"


	82. Chapter 82

Shay came awake slowly, her head throbbing as her eyes fluttered open then closed several times before full awareness hit her. There were a lot of people in the room, some of whom she had only seen out and about in the village. She heard someone barking out orders- and it took her a second to realize that that dark sounding voice belonged to Naruto as Sakura and Tsunade bent over her.

"Oh! You're awake-" Was all that Tsunade said when she noticed that Shay's eyes were open. Leaning back a bit she the held up two fingers in front of her face and asked, "How many fingers do you see?"

Shay was quiet for a moment as Naruto walked over and bent down to slip an arm around her shoulders and help her up. But she was starting to feel nauseous. So instead of simply replying in the conventional way, she held up three fingers instead. Tsunade looked down at her hand to double check and make sure that she was really holding up three fingers and shrugged when she saw four.

_Oh well, close enough. _"I think she'll be fine Naruto. Let her rest just a bit longer and everything will be fine."

Naruto nodded then asked anxiously, "What about the baby?" As Sakura straightened her spine. Her examination of the child in Shay's womb had shown no distress. So she imagined that everything there was fine.

"Everything is good on this end. The baby isn't in distress. It's still attached to the uterine wall-"

Naruto flushed to the roots of his hair and held out his free hand and flailed around while saying, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell are you doing talking about Shay's lady parts in a room full of guys?"

Sakura gave him a bored look and swiped at him with her hand and hissed, "Grow up, baka."

"Me! What about you? Shay doesn't know a lot of the people in this room and you just randomly started talking about her lady parts! Do you know how embarrassing that could be for her?" Naruto snapped back as he wrapped his arms protectively around his mate.

"I wasn't talking about her lady parts! I was talking about the baby- moron!" Sakura shouted as the people around them subtlely started to move away from the three. Instinctively knowing that a fight was about to break out when Tsunade clapped her hands, instantly stopping Naruto and Sakura's argument long enough to say.

"Alright kiddies, lets return to the party. Naruto- it would be best if you stuck close to Shay just in case we missed something. Also, take her home early. Don't let anyone stop you."

Naruto glanced at the kage for a moment and shifted one hand to play with Shay's hair a little bit as he mulled over her words.

He'd take Shay home right now if he could. But thanks to Kakashi's blunder earlier, if he tried to walk out the door with her- they'd be cornered by people wanting to speak with her._ Among_ _other things. _Naruto thought irritably. Already knowing what some of the people outside of the room would say to him. And Shay.

No, when he took her home he'd have to sneak out using his friends as a distraction or something. But even if he managed to get them both home safely, there was no guarantee that they would stay safe. Not between the diplomates, and such looking for a wife, toy or bargaining chip with neighboring villages.

Naruto sighed, the next upcoming months were going to drive him mad. Glancing down he looked at Shay, resting almost limply in his arms and was about to say something when the door opened and someone peeked into the room- looking for Tsunade no doubt. Naruto tipped Shay's head back a bit and kissed her forehead and murmered that they would leave soon.

Until then, he'd see if they could get a chair or something for her to sit on.

Just in case.


	83. Chapter 83

Shay was eating some of the food that a nice young lady named Hinata had gotten for her after being asked by Kakashi, her eyes scanning the room of people. Some were talking openly, having a pleasant time. And others...

Others were looking at her with expressions of disgust and whispering among each other.

_Why?_ She wondered as she turned her head and looked out the window that her seat had been carefully and (cough* strategically*cough) placed so that when Naruto deemed it time to escape, he could simply grab her and go.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she nearly jumped out of her skin and dropped her plate of snacks as someone sat down next to her. The heavy weight of the other person causing her to come up out of her seat a bit before settling again. Turning her head she blinked at the person next to her with a bewildered expression on her face as she realized that it was the young man from earlier sitting next to her.

Naruto's friend. Gaara.

"How's the food?" He asked politely as he shifted slightly and crossed his legs as he put one arm across the back of the seat, behind her shoulders in what she supposed was a protective gesture as he glared at a particular group of people whispering across the room.

Shay looked down at her barely touched food then held the plate out for him to take something off of it and try, earning a startled look from him before he picked an seafood orderve and hesitantly took it from her plate and muttered a soft thanks before popping it into his mouth and chewing slowly. "Good?" She asked. He nodded his head and without warning leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek then settled back in his seat and stared straight ahead as he swallowed.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Shay said as she flushed a nice pink as she touched the place where he had kissed her. Gaara glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and smiled a little bit. She seemed embarrassed by his display of affection. But by displaying his affection for his adopted brother's woman, he had effectively given those in the room who wished her ill- a new enemy to face.

After all, everyone who knew Naruto knew that they couldn't mess with him without going through Gaara and his shinobi siblings. And the same could be said of Naruto. No one messed with Gaara without going through himself and all of his friends. Former sensei's and Hokage included.

"Would you like what's left on the plate, Gaara? I don't think I can eat anymore right now." Shay said softly, looking slightly uncomfortable as Gaara's piercing aqua eyes turned to her again.

"Are you about to be sick?" He asked, concern coloring his tone as he leaned forward and started to lift his hand in the air to signal to Naruto that something was up and it was tiem to go. Shay's hand shot out and grasped his wrist, stopping him from signaling Naruto as she replied quickly.

"No! I'm fine, just..." She let her voice trail off as she glanced at the group of people that had been whispering about her. Gaara glanced in the group's direction and made a grunting sound and leaned back in the seat and put his arm back in place behind her.

_So that's the problem._ Gaara thought as he glared a little bit at the group.

Shay was uncomfortable being among so many who scrutinized her and judged her relationship with Naruto. It was understandable that she would feel that way given _who_ Naruto was. But since she was also Kakashi's kin, she would have to learn to live with it. Reaching out Gaara took the plate from her and set it in his lap, yet didn't touch the food.

As a rule he generally didn't take food from people. It was considered rude. And doing so made it easy to poision him, yet taking that one piece from Shay earlier had been a trust excercise for him. Something he did only with the people closest to him. Naruto. His siblings.

And since Shay was Naruto's mate- that now included her. _No, she and her baby. _Dear god, Naruto was going to be a father... He was still sort of shocked. But excited and happy for his adopted brother too.

"Listen Shay, don't let those people bother you-" Gaara said after a heartbeat or two before continuing. "They look down on Naruto because of the demon in him. They see him and many people associated with him as lesser beings than themselves..." Gaara said gently as he glanced over at the group across the room again and was surprised when Shay growled.

"Then they need to have some of their teeth knocked out on top of getting a taste of their own medicine. Naruto hasn't told me much about his life growing up, but what he has told me- gave me the impression that it was hell. He didn't deserve that. No one does-" Gaara looked at her wide eyed, his expression a strange combination of bewilderment, embarrassment and... Understanding?

_Good lord._ Did she actually _understand_ what it had been like for Naruto and himself growing up? He wondered as he continued to stare at her for a moment before clapping his free hand to his mouth and laughing.

_Jesus_, out of all the reactions he'd ever seen to Naruto's past- Hers would stand out the most. It was no wonder Naruto fell in love with this woman. If he had met her first, he would have probably fallen in love with her too.


	84. Chapter 84

Hey kittens and cats and everything that goes, M-e-o-w!

It's been a while. Sorry about that, I've been meaning to update more and wound up getting sick three months ago. I went from weighing 187 pounds to less than 118 1/2 pounds as of yesterday. And I still don't know what's causing me to get sick.

I have however tried to keep busy by re writing Caged Hunter, writing a bunch of TMNT stories and a new FMA. So I'm working inbetween being ill and doctors visits.

But enough about how I'm doing, you probably want something else to read. So here it is.

**Melt**

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Gaara sat beside Shay silently, trying to look menacing so that no one would bother her when he saw a foreign official and his wife and three daughters heading their way and leaned forward just a bit. His aqua eyes scanning the room for Naruto who was now engaged in conversation with a lord from another village.

_Damn. _He thought in irritation as he gnashed his teeth and glared at five.

He knew the official personally from doing business with him. He was a hateful man. Uncaring of those like Naruto and the people who assosiated with them. And his wife and daughters were spiteful creatures. If he let them speak with Shay they would tear her to shreds. Perhaps even cause her so much distress that she lost the baby.

glancing in Naruto's direction again, he caught his adopted brother's eye and saw the flash of panic on his face when he saw the official and his family were less than ten feet away from Shay. Gaara gave him the, _you-better-get-over-here-fast_ look and saw Naruto excuse himself from the lord's presence only to be intercepted by someone else.

Gaara sighed and started to get up just as the official and his family reached them and started to open his mouth to say something to the man- _politely_- because one could never be rude at a party such as this one, he reminded himself as the youngest daughter giggled and said, "Look father, it's the fox demon's bitch."

Gaara's jaw dropped open in dismay and horror as his mind sniped, _Well so much for being polite. _

Snapping his jaw shut, he shook his head as if to clear it and made a growling sound low in the back of his throat in warning as the eldest daughter looked at him like he was an insect and made a shooing motion with her hand and complained, "Even the watch dog is here- and he isn't very well trained. Shoo. Shoo. Go away watch dog."

"Now now dear, the watch dog must be here or the fox brats whore might be lynched." Official Makimai's wife said with a sadistic smile as she looked down at Shay. Shay merely smoothed her skirt for a second then sat back in her seat and crossed her arms then tipped her head back to look at the group with a bored expression on her face.

"Why does she say nothing mother?" The second oldest daughter asked when he younger sister stepped foread and grabbed a handfull of Shay's hair and pulled.

Across the room Kakashi, Naruto, Tsunade, Sakura and everyone watched as Shay cried out and before she could be stopped, reared back her hand and punched the girl in the face. The sickening crack of her knuckles hitting the other's flesh and the snap of a nose breaking- startling everyone. Gaara included.

There was a series of cracking sounds as each member of Official Makimai's family went down- hard. After which Shay stood over the groaning, bleeding group laying on the floor with a murderous expression on her face as she spat, "You know what? I'm sick of everyone's bullshit. _How. Dare. You._ All of you act as if you are better than Naruto. News flash assholes- _you_ sacrificed an infant to save your miserable lives from certain death,"

"It should have been _you_ laying down your lives for the baby! Not leaving him alone, treating him like trash, or leaving him to his own vices because your all to damn cowardly to look him in the eyes because you all knew that some day he'd become more powerful than all of you combined! So the next time you wanna talk trash about any of the demon containers- I want you to think hard on just how badly you failed each of them!"

The room was quiet. Everyone stood in place, stunned. With the exception of of Gaara, Naruto and Kakashi- all of whom had moved to stand next to Shay who was practically shaking with rage and close to hyperventilating.

"Whoa... Take it easy Shay." Gaara said in a slightly panicked tone.

"Breathe-" Kakashi said before demonstrating how to slow her breathing back to normal as Naruto put his hand over her stomach and kissed her pale cheek.

_His Shay. His sweet amazing girl_, he thought possessively as he grasped her wrist and looked over the hand that she had used to knock out Official Makimai and his moronic family. The skin of her knuckles was red and he could already see the faint hints of bruising and smiled a little.

Wishing that he had been the one to knock the group of five unconcious for their insults and the way that Shay had suddenly been grabed and had her lovely hair pulled. "Naruto... I think now would be a good time to take Shay home. She's had enough excitment for one night." Kakashi said, his tone jovial though Naruto could tell that he was less than pleased with how Shay had been treated.

It wouldn't come as a surprise if Kakashi decided to make Official Makimai and his horrible family disappear forever once they were a good ways from the village.

Naruto nodded and started to gather Shay up in his arms so that he could carry her out of there when Tsunade and his friends came up. "Shay! We're so sorry! We would have stopped him but that guy and his family can crush our clans with a single word." Kiba said as he sort of flailed around. Naruto gave him a cold look that Shay noticed.

He was probably wishing he didn't have his hands full so that he could punch the dog nin.

"It's okay Kiba. Everyone. I understand," She said as she took a moment to lift a hand to run along the side of Naruto's jaw. Just like he liked. Calming the blonde somewhat. "You couldn't risk having your families destroyed. That's politics for you."

"Yeah. Politics." Naruto said in a quiet tone as he quickly thanked them for everything else then made his way to the nearest window where he found Gaara standing, waiting, sand gourd strapped to his back.

"Gaara?"

"I'm going with you."

"Why?" Naruto asked in a bewildered tone. The red head merely shrugged his shoulders and looked at Shay as he muttered,

_"Why indeed?"_


	85. Chapter 85

Yo all- sorry for my periodic disappearances. I've been working on all kinds of stuff and figured that today was as good a day as any to update Melt.

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Naruto stared unblinkingly at the scenery around him as he carried Shay bridal style in his arms, his mind working his normally calm temperament into a fine temper as he thought about the politician and his family and everything that they had said and done to upset Shay enough to punch them out. And then there was his anger towards his friends- smoldering in his gut. Waiting for just the right moment to burst forth and burn him up from the inside.

God, he'd never been so pissed before in his life as he had been when his friends had apologized to him for letting Makimai and his kin so much as breathe their acidic breath on his woman. And all because they had feared Makimai's wrath.

Well they should worry about his wrath more. Because he was feeling rather like crushing them himself at the moment.

He must have given his thoughts away somehow. A nervous tick, the slightest of pressure as his arms tightened around Shay's body- He didn't know what it was exactly, but one moment he was furious and the next... He felt almost like a child again. Being scolded by an adult as Shay's voice cut through his thoughts like a knife.

"You're angry aren't you." It wasn't a question as much as it was a statement of fact. But it was enough to stop all of his thoughts of being wrathful for the moment.

"No. I'm not angry," Furious. He was furious. So much so that he felt his temperature spike. How weird was that? "Makiami and his venomous brood of skanks had no business being anywhere near you. Especially with Kakashi claiming you as his kin." He said in a surprisingly even tone as he blinked his azure blue eyes and landed on a rooftop and set Shay on her feet for a moment then stepped away from her. As Garra suddenly landed where he had been standing a moment before and looked between the two of them with a somewhat curious expression on his face before sitting down to watch what happened next.

Naruto glanced down at him for a second, not even bothering to hide his annoyance with his adopted brother and earned a grin from Garra before he blanked his expression and motioned for them to continue. He certainly wasn't going to stop them from whatever they were doing.

But if things got odd or they got lovey dovey- he was leaving.

"Naruto, being angry at Makimai is one thing. But being upset with your friends for what happened is another. I don't really understand politics, especially those of a ninja's village. But if your friends were sure that that little troll of a man could hurt them or their families then they have the right to do what is considered best for their clans."

"And what about what's best for you? Or the baby for that matter? Makimai and his bitches attacked you! Not just verbally by physically! And in front of a room of people who witnessed everything!" Naruto turned on her and almost shouted as his eyes bled to scarlet causing her to take a small step back. "That son of a bitch knew that Kakashi had claimed you as his sister and he still dared to attack you though Kakashi holds a great deal more power than he does. He dragged your name and reputation through the mud because of what you are to me- And my friends, the people who are supposed to support me and help me- just stood there and let him!"

Shay sighed. So that's what was bothering him, she thought.

It wasn't so much that Naruto was pissed at his friends it was more like he felt..._wounded_. Maybe even a bit betrayed and disappointed in them for not stopping Makimai and his family.

Deciding to try this conversation over from a different angle, Shay said, "Naruto I want you to listen to me. To really listen, and picture everything in your mind. Pretend that the circumstances of your birth, the way you grew up- everything was different. You had parents who loved you from day one. People who would do anything to protect you until you were able to protect yourself. A family..."

"A clan." Naruto said apathetically as he looked away from her.

"Yes. Now imagine being in the shoes of one of your friends tonight, earlier when Makimai came after me. Imagine how they must have felt to know how badly you needed them... But they let you down because they had to do what was best for their families. Can you honestly say that if things were different, you wouldn't have done the same?"

Naruto wanted to deny it. To continue letting his anger run it's course, but he knew deep down that Shay was right. If the roles had been reversed- he would have done the same thing as his friends. He might have hated himself for it. God knew that he would have hated Makimai and his brood... But there it was. In all it's simplicity and honesty.

He'd forgive his friends for tonight's incident. But that didn't mean that he didn't have to forgive them right away. He'd do that in a few days. Right now, as he glanced back at Shay and realized what a gem he'd found in her and managed to give her a small smile.


	86. Chapter 86

Back at the ball-

After Naruto, Shay, and Gaara's hasty departure from the party Makimai and his wife and daughters began making a scene. Trying to rile up the shinobi, and noble families that had been invited to the party that Kakashi had so painstakingly put together so that he could introduce Shay to everyone as a Hatake and announce her engagement to Naruto- thus securing her future in the village without much resistance.

But Makimai- That horrible, _evil_, little troll and his bitches were trying their damnedest to ruin everything!

Kakashi had known this from the moment that they had arrived at the party. They had flitted about the room from person to person in their usual fashion, spreading rumors about Shay and Naruto and voicing how the two should be killed before they managed to breed. Because they were under the strange impression that any child Naruto had would be half demon because of the Kyubbi- and thus would inevitably destroy them all.

It was nothing but the mad rantings of lunatics.

But if they were allowed to continue then some of the nobles might begin to believe them. Which meant that he needed to do something to silence them and quick. Luckily he had prepared something ahead of time for just such an occasion. Reaching into his dress jacket, he slid his hand ever so subtly towards the sash around his waist and pulled the small vial of fast acting poison that he had often used during his days as an Anbu and made his way over to the table across the way where all the food and drinks came from and found several glasses of wine that would mask the taste of the substance.

And poured just enough of the poison into each glass to kill the Makimai and his entire family.

He would allow no one to undo his work to protect Shay! She was one of his clan now dammit, and by hook or crook he would keep her safe from harm so long as he lived. He owed her that much. And he owed Naruto that much as well.

Once he was done pouring the poison into the wine in each glass, he picked them up and took a second to swirl the liquid around so that the poison would mix into it better and then set the glasses down and looked around for a moment for a way to get the wine to them without implicating himself as their soon to be killer, and found a waiter with an empty tray coming his way.

_Here goes nothing- _He thought as he reached out and pulled the man to a stop and whispered for him to take Makimai and his family the drinks, and simply say that a 'friend' sent the wine. The man looked at him for a moment, understanding very well who Kakashi was and just _what_ he was probably up too since he had several members of his own family that were shinobi- and nodded and collected the glasses and went on his way knowing that the Hatake would watch him like a hawk until the noble and his family lay dead.

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"Naruto looked angry when he left..." Hinata said almost to herself, not expecting her friends to hear her.

"Well, how would you expect him to react when his pregnant wife-to-be was physically attacked in a room full of shinobi who are supposed to be his friends?" Kiba said in an angry tone that Hinata recognized as his 'self-loathing' tone.

"But- We would have helped if not for Makimai's position as a noble." Hinata argued as a hand came down on her shoulder, drawing her attention to the person just behind her. It was her cousin, Neji, who's hand rested so gently on her skin as he said in a dark tone,

"We know that. But look at things from Naruto's point of view, Hinata. He grew up alone. He may or may not understand our position where Makimai is concerned. But the one thing that he is very aware of now is that he has a family. A clan. Shay will be his wife and she now carries his child- It's a very strange yet not entirely unwelcome experience to him. Which was why he left so angry. He feels betrayed by us for not trying to help Shayera when she was attacked. It's just a good thing that Shay didn't need our help or we really would have been in trouble."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kiba and Hinata both asked curiously when Shino cut in.

"Gaara was about to defend her. And Naruto, Kakashi and Lady Tsunade were all starting to make their way over to Shay. If not for the fact that there were so many political figures in the room right now- one or even all of them may have reached Shay's side before she could be attacked. But since she was- Kakashi will likely punish them for laying their hands on his sister."

"What do you think he'll do?" Nej asked Shino who then replied,

"If I were him, and given the circumstances plus the fact that their trying to rally a lynch mob to assassinate both Naruto and Shay... I'd say he's planning to kill them." No sooner than the words had left his mouth, he pointed to the unfortunate family who had been foolish enough to cross the last Hatake as their wine glasses slipped from numb fingers and each of them let out a horrible wail and doubled over in pain as blood started running down their faces from their eyes, and noses before they each started to vomit up blood.

Causing several ladies in the room to scream in horror as each of the Makimai family fell over dead.


End file.
